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PEERLESS    ALASKA 


OUR  CACHE  NEAR  THE  POLE 


By 
CHARLES    HALLOCK,    M.A. 

Founder    of   Forest    and   Stream,    and   Dean    of 
Jlmerican  Sportsmen 


ILLUSTRATED    FROM  SKETCHES   BY 
GEORGE  G.  CANTWELL 


NEW  YORK 
BROADWAY    'PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

1908 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1908,  by 

BROADWAY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


A  FOREWORD. 


To  the  Public: 

As  the  founder  of  American  churches,  schools  and 
civil  government  in  Alaska,  and  for  thirty-one  years  an 
active  worker  in  its  development,  I  take  pleasure  In 
calling  public  attention  to  the  excellence,  reliability  and 
completeness  of  this  book  of  Mr.  Hallock,  so  aptly  indi- 
cated by  its  sub-title  as  "Our  Cache  Near  the  Pole." 

Alaska  is  a  country  of  which  the  half  has  not  been 
told  or  even  surmised.  To  write  so  that  the  reader  can 
see  and  in  some  measure  comprehend  what  it  is  like  re- 
quires an  author  of  special  gift,  and  this  Mr.  Hallock  has. 
As  a  naturalist  and  sportsman,  he  has  been  trained  to 
close  observation.  As  a  scientist,  he  defines,  adapts  and 
applies.  As  an  editor  for  fifty-five  years  in  and  out,  he 
has  had  long  practice  in  the  art  of  putting  things.  He 
appeals  irresistibly  to  one's  sense  of  appreciation.  Fur- 
thermore, as  the  author  of  half  a  dozen  popular  books 
on  natural  history  and  sport,  and  a  purveyor  for  many 
years  to  lovers  of  outdoor  life  through  the  "Forest  and 
Stream,"  which  he  founded,  he  knows  how  to  diagnose 
the  public  mind  and  prescribe  just  what  it  wants  and 
needs  to  know.  And  the  results  of  all  this  professional 
training  and  experience  and  investigation  are  admirably 
and  opportunely  presented  in  this  last  work  of  his,  which 
same  guarantees  to  the  reader  pleasure,  accuracy  and 
instruction. 

Sheldon  Jackson, 
U.  S.  General  Agent  of  Education  for  Alaska. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  13,  1908. 


UNDER  THE  CLOUD. 


Twenty-three  years  ago,  when  Alaska,  disregarded 
and  undervalued,  seemed  to  be  lying  in  the  shadow  and 
chill  of  its  sub-Arctic  seclusion,  the  author  of  "Our  New 
Alaska,"  in  an  attempt  to  vindicate  the  "Seward  Pur- 
chase," wrote  what  follows.  It  was  an  appeal  to  Caesar. 
Subsequent  development  has  borne  out  all  that  was  then 
forecast,  and  transcendently  more,  as  has  been  confirmed 
by  official  surveys,  governors'  reports,  U.  S.  experiment 
stations,  and  correspondents: 

"The  special  object  of  this  book  is  to  point  out  the  visible 
resources  of  that  far  off  territory,  and  to  assist  their  lag- 
gard development;  to  indicate  to  those  insufficiently 
informed  the  economic  value  of  important  industries 
hitherto  almost  neglected,  which  are  at  once  available  for 
immediate  profit;  to  elucidate  the  vexed  problem  of  labor 
supply;  to  impress  upon  Congress  the  advantage,  as  well 
as  the  duty,  of  providing  proper  protection  for  the 
people,  and  granting  them  representation  through  a  chosen 
delegate,  who  shall  be  competent  and  conscientious  to 
instruct  and  advise,  and  efficient  to  push  their  claims  and 
their  necessities,  so  that  they  may  voice  the  needs  of  this 
great  integer  of  the  republic,  and  contribute  without  let  or 
hindrance  to  its  wealth  and  prosperity  ;  and  finally  to  prove 
conclusively  that  the  "  Seward  Purchase  "  was  not  so  bad  a 
bargain  after  all.  At  the  same  time  attention  is  directed  to 
those  extraordinary  physical  phenomena  whose  marvelous 
combination  makes  Alaska  the  most  attractive  region  in  the 
world  for  sojourners  and  summer  tourists.  I  would  fain 
divert  a  portion  of  the  travel  which  habitually  goes  to 
Europe  to  this  new  field  of  commerce  and  adventure.  I 
would  popularize  home  excursions  among  our  votaries  of 
fashion — Yosemite,  Alaska,  and  the  Yellowstone — as  the 
primary  and  proper  thing  to  "  do  "  before  attempting  the 
Old  World  tour  ;  and  so  make  it  incumbent  upon  every 
American  citizen,  who  would  claim  consideration  abroad, 
to  be  duly  accredited  at  the  home  office  as  competent  to 
travel. 

"Hitherto  our  new  possession  has  seemed  almost  a  myth 
too  vague  and  intangible  to  tempt  even  the  Argonauts. 
Like  an  unexpected  legacy,  its  magnificence  and  value  have 
not  yet  been  comprehended;  but  the  time  is  close  at  hand 


6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

when  her  mighty  forests  will  yield  their  treasures,  her  mines 
will  open  out  their  richness,  her  seas  will  give  of  their 
abundance,  and  all  her  quiet  coves  will  be  converted  into 
busy  harbors.  Her  grassy  islands,  her  rounded  foot-hills 
and  her  bounteous  table-lands  will  pasture  goodly  herds, 
and  her  exuberant  soil  teem  with  vegetables  ami  fruit.  The 
gelid  out-put  from  her  glacier  fronts — the  crystal  ice-floes 
which  fill  her  most  sequestered  channels — will  be  harvested 
where  they  float,  for  transportation  to  the  semi-torrid  lati- 
tudes below;  pleasure  yachts  will  thread  the  intricacies  of 
her  studded  islands,  and  no  retreat  for  invalids  and  summer 
saunterers  will  be  half  so  popular.  Already  the  vibrations  of 
the  pending  boom  begin  to  agitate  the  air.  The  favorable 
reports  of  government  explorers  sent  out  to  investigate  the 
interior  as  well  as  the  coast,  are  re-assuring.  Letters  of 
inquiry  from  intending  settlers  come  from  every  section. 
Official  departments  are  getting  down  to  systematic  work. 
New  industries  have  been  established  within  the  present 
year.  Capital  will  no  longer  be  withheld  grudgingly  from 
enterprises  waiting  to  be  developed  ;  and  by  the  time  this 
book  is  ready  to  leave  the  press,  a  tide  of  emigration  will 
set  strongly  in  the  direction  of  the  Aleutian  Isles. 

"Talk  of  the  sterility  of  Alaska,  and  its  inhospitable  soil ! 
Why  there  are  eleven  kinds  of  edible  berries  which  mature 
in  August,  and  strawberries  grow  in  lavish  profusion  right 
under  the  breadth  of  the  glacier  fields  in  latitude  sixty 
degrees.  The  mightiest  giant  of  our  eastern  pineries  is 
but  a  pigmy  in  diameter  beside  the  average  conifer  of 
Alaska,  where  the  undergrowth  is  so  dense,  and  the  "  slash  " 
so  intricate,  below  the  snow-line,  that  progress  through  it  is 
almost  impossible,  and  three  miles  a  day  is  a  difficult  feat 
to  accomplish. 

"Alaska  has  been  egregiously  misconceived,  maligned  and 
misrepresented.  The  very  encomiums  which  enraptured 
tourists  have  bestowed  upon  her  Alpine  scenery,  have  served 
to  discourage  settlement  or  adventure;  men  forgetting  that 
the  forbidding  Alps  do  not  constitute  the  whole  of  Switzer- 
land. Frigid  impressions  of  her  climate  and  agricultural 
capabilities  have  been  reflected  from  her  glacier  fields  and 
snow-clad  peaks.  Beneath  her  pallid  drapery  fancy 
apprehended  a  stark  dead  body  instead  of  a  living  force. 
What  poets  admire  to  paint  as  "  The  land  of  the  midnight 
sun,"  matter-of-fact  folks  accept  as  the  polar  world.  And 
so  Alaska  is  misjudged. 

"Alaska  has  been  belied.  Not  only  are  her  marvelous 
resources  generally  ignored,  but  they  have  been  systematic 


UXDER    THE   CLOUD.  J 

cally  and  semi-officially  denied.  Authentic  statements  of 
disinterested  investigators  have  been  sedulously  contra- 
dicted in  the  interest  of  parties  whom  it  paid  to  keep  the 
possibilities  of  the  country  close.  It  was  so  during  the 
Russian  occupation,  and  has  been  so  ever  since,  and  from 
kindred  motives.  No  conscientious  person  ever  dared 
affirm  that  the  country  was  absolutely  worthless;  that  a 
region  with  2,000  miles  of  breadth  and  25,000  miles  of  coast 
line  (!)  had  absolutely  nothing  in  it  worth  having;  but  the 
Russian  government,  which  yielded  its  prerogatives  to  the 
fur  companies,  couid  itself  get  nothing  out  of  it,  and  so, 
perhaps,  it  came  to  be  for  sale.  Only  within  a  few  years 
past  has  the  light  of  truth  begun  to  gleam  steadfastly 
through  the  fog,  inasmuch  as  the  country  had  been  pre- 
viously inaccessible  to  us;  but  now,  with  a  regular  bi- 
weekly steamer  to  principal  ports,  and  the  omnipotent  fact 
published  broadcast  by  the  Sitka  paper,  that  milk  is  sold  at 
ten  cents  a  quart,  and  lettuce  is  given  away  in  the  local 
market,  some  caution  must  be  observed  in  pronouncing  the 
territory  valueless,  incapable  and  agriculturally  worthless. 
The  scope  and  fitness  of  Alaska  for  agriculture  and  stock 
raising  are  not  yet  recognized,  simply  because  they  have  not 
been  extensively  tested. 

"The  illimitable  wheat  region  of  the  British  North-west, 
once  supposed  to  be  a  desert,  it  has  been  proved  can  feed 
the  world.  The  intense  cold  of  winter,  instead  of  being  a 
drawback,  acts  in  the  farmer's  interest.  The  deeper  the 
frost  goes  the  better.  As  it  thaws  out  gradually  in  the 
summer,  it  loosens  the  sub-soil  and  sends  up  the  needed 
moisture  to  the  roots  of  the  grain.  The  Canadian  explorers 
in  Rupert's  Sound,  in  the  interest  of  a  railway  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  claim  that  the  country  is  not  only  densely  forested  but 
contains  valleys  and  plains  which  promise  rich  wheat 
harvests  when  once  they  shall  have  come  under  cultivation. 
The  interior  of  Alaska  seems  to  be  equally  assuring,  since 
all  the  witnesses  in  nature,  there  indigenous,  rise  up  and 
testify  to  it.  The  geese  which  fly  north  in  April  and  return 
in  November,  the  grouse  which  brood  in  May,  the  flowers 
which  bloom  in  June,  the  uncounted  herds  of  caribou,  the 
abundance  of  moose,  bears,  mountain  goats,  birds  and 
other  animal  life,  the  exuberance  of  wild  fruits  and  forest 
growth,  the  expansive  prairies  and  moss-covered  plains,  and 
the  almost  tropical  heat  of  mid-summer,  all  attest  the 
presence  of  conditions,  climatic  and  otherwise,  upon  which 
to  predicate  deductions  altogether  favorable. 

"And  Alaska  'is  waiting  t'. .;  -ici.voranee.'    She  holds  her 


8  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

arms  outstretched,  and  her  lap  filled  with  offerings,  bidding 
us  come  and  take  them  as  our  recompense,  if  we  will  but 
set  her  free  from  isolation  and  introduce  her  to  the  com- 
mercial world. 

"My  unpretentious  sketch  may  not  add  any  great  amount 
of  information  to  what  has  already  been  written  of  this 
strange  country,  but  what  I  have  contributed  is  mainly  from 
my  own  personal  observation,  unaided  by  reports  and 
reference  books,  which  I  have  purposely  refrained  from  con- 
sulting. Its  south-eastern  coast  line  for  a  distance  of  one 
thousand  miles  has  become  already  pretty  well  known,  and 
is  now  being  thoroughly  surveyed  by  the  government.  My 
illustrations  show  some  of  its  characteristics.  We  need  not 
care  at  present  to  speculate  much  upon  what  lies  inland, 
back  of  the  coast  range.  It  is  better  to  utilize  the  oppor- 
tunities at  hand  than  to  search  for  others  which  may  not 
exist.  The  territory  is  vast,  and  centuries  of  systematic 
investigation  will  hardly  suffice  to  reveal  its  fullest  capa- 
bilities. Population  will  penetrate  into  the  interior  as  soon 
as  economic  industries  are  fairly  introduced  along  the  sea- 
board, and  if  there  be  any  land  fit  for  cultivation  it  will  be 
promptly  brought  into  requisition  to  supply  local  demands. 
Those  who  know,  and  have  raised  fine  potatoes  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  up  the  Stickeen  River,  which  matured  in 
August,  affirm  that  Alaska  can  supply  her  home  people  from 
the  outset,  and  pari  passu  with  their  numerical  increase, 
with  fresh  meat,  and  vegetables,  game  and  berries,  fish  and 
dairy  products,  leaving  the  lower  latitudes  to  supply  the 
cereals  and  groceries.  If  minerals  are  found  as  widely 
distributed  as  indications  suggest,  the  process  of  develop- 
ment and  occupation  will  be  rapid.  Upon  the  whole,  our 
people  have  shown  considerable  energy  in  taking  hold  to 
make  something  of  what  appeared  to  be  "no  good."  They 
have  done  fairly  well  with  their  cumbersome  acquisition, 
and  events  are  likely  to  prove  that  the  "  Seward  Purchase  " 
was  more  than  dirt  cheap.  Since  the  cession  she  has 
yielded  in  revenues  to  the  general  Government  $10,000,- 
000.  The  nation  has  been  enriched  by  the  fur  industry 
to  the  extent  of  $52,000,000;  the  value  of  the  salmon 
taken  has  been  $50,000,000;  the  output  of  gold  has 
amounted  to  more  than  $37,000,000;  the  wealth  of  the 
nation  from  her  mining  and  fishing  industries  alone  is 
double  in  amount  the  price  paid  by  the  United  States 
Government  for  the  territory.  And  yet  hardly  a  begin- 
ning seems  to  have  been  made  in  the  development  of  her 
mineral  resources. 


ITINERARY. 


In  this  year  of  grace,  1908,  five  large  passenger  steam- 
ers a  month  ply  between  Seattle  and  Valdez,  Alaska. 
Valdez  is  an  important  entrepot  for  the  interior,  and  will 
soon  be  connected  with  the  Yukon  Valley  by  rail.  The 
old  route  to  Alaska  used  to  be  from  Port  Townsend  to 
Victoria,  B.  C,  and  thence  to  ports  of  Southeastern 
Alaska.  But  both  ways  via  Seattle  and  Victoria  are 
patronized  now  most  liberally  by  visitors  in  the  excursion 
season. 

The  mid-summer  journey  of  900  miles  between  San 
Francisco  and  Portland,  Ore.,  is  a  trip  full  of  delight  all 
the  way,  taking  the  tourist  through  the  most  attractive 
scenery  of  the  west  coast,  that  he  may  be  the  better  pre- 
pared to  compare  it  with  what  is  superlative  beyond.  All 
the  scenic  attractions  of  the  coast  range,  of  the  San  Joa- 
quin and  Sacramento  valleys,  the  Sierra  Nevadas  just  within 
view,  Mt.  Shasta  in  its  isolated  grandeur,  the  Siskiyou 
Mountains,  just  across  the  Oregon  line,  and  the  Rogue  River 
and  Willamette  Valleys,  are  vouchsafed  to  us  within  the 
limit  of  three  days.  How  we  bridge  the  mighty  intervals 
of  space,  and  handicap  old  time  in  this  modern  race  of 
life  ! 

For  elegant  comfort,  without  sight-seeing,  the  magnificent 
Steamers  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Company,  running  from  San 
Francisco  to  Portland,  and  Port  Townsend  on  Puget  Sound, 
afford  an  incomparable  service.  The  boats  of  the  trans- 
Atlantic  routes  to  Europe  are  hardly  more  luxurious  ;  and 
those  dwellers  of  the  Pacific  to  whom  the  beauties  of  the  in- 
land journey  are  familiar,  generally  choose  the  water  route. 
Excursion  tickets  which  are  good  for  40  days  from  date  of 
issue,  enable  the  tourist  to  accomplish  both  the  inside  and 
the  outside  routes.  Eastern  people  choose  the  Union 
Pacific  or  Northern  Pacific  railroads,  and  Canadians  the 


i°  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

Canadian  Pacific,  according  as  geographical  location  meets 
their  convenience.  Those  of  the  Southwest  find  their 
objective  point  most  accessible  by  the  Southern  Pacific. 
Happy  is  he  whose  course  leads  across  the  northern  tiers, 
where  the  phenomenal  solar  heat  of  midsummer  is  always 
tempered  by  a  vitalizing  atmosphere  which  cools  when  the 
sun  goes  down.  It  would  do  your  honest  hearts  good  to 
see  the  complaisance  with  which  our  Canadian  neighbors 
regard  their  completed  transit — a  stupendous  accomplish- 
ment whose  engineering  difficulties  take  precedence  in  com- 
parison with  the  mightiest  of  our  own,  and  whose  passage 
through  the  rugged  gaps  of  three  successive  mountain 
ranges  makes  our  single  cut  across  the  Rockies,  seem  almost 
common-place.  Yet  the  Northern  Pacific  is  a  more  inter- 
esting route,  and  the  most  desirable  for  all  whose  conven- 
ience permits  a  choice.  It  traverses  a  more  diversified  and 
populous  country,  and  is  besides  the  great  continental 
artery  whose  pulsations  are  destined  to  keep  the  life-blood 
warm  in  all  our  Alaskan  extremities.  It  will  presently  become 
the  great  feeder  and  factor  of  our  Alaskan  commerce,  and 
the  popular  thoroughfare  of  two-thirds  of  those  who,  by  and 
by,  will  regard  the  tour  as  imperative,  as  they  have  done  the 
stereotyped  tour  of  Europe,  now  becoming  a  familiar  and 
effete  experience. 

I  recall  with  pleasure  my  journey  over  this  great  thorough- 
fare, and  the  vague  anticipations  of  my  first  Alaska  trip. 
My  thoughts  were  full  of  the  unknown  land.  The  outlook 
seemed  without  a  horizon.  I  felt  more  than  ever  "  foot- 
loose,"— like  a  candidate  blind-folded  for  a  first  degree,  or 
a  novice  after  the  preliminary  toss  of  a  blanket — not  guess- 
ing what  was  coming  next,  but  feeling  that  all  would  turn 
out  right  in  the  end.  I  fared  sumptuously  in  the  dining 
car ;  and  my  time  was  agreeably  divided  between  reverie 
and  repletion. 

"  Going  to  Alaska  !     Going  to  Alaska  !  " 

For  three  consecutive  nights  I  had  lain  in  my  Pullman 
berth,  traveling  westward,  and  between  the  hours  of  som- 
nolence and  semi-wakefulness,  I  would  listen  to  the  cadence 
of  the  car  wheels  as  the  train  rumbled  on,  and  each  mono- 
tonous iteration,  seemed  always  to  repeat,  with  a  repetition 
which  made  me  tired  :  "  Going  to  Alaska — going  to  Alaska 
— going  to  Alaska — going  to  Alaska — going  to  Alaska  !  " 
Sometimes  it  would  drop  into  a  subdued  refrain,  and  anon 
increase  to  a  rattling  emphasis  when  the  train  ran  through  a 
cut,  and  this  continuous  admonition  was  broken  only  when- 
ever we  came  to  a  full  stop  and  all  the  waste  air  in  the 


ITINERARY.  II 

brakes  blew  off  with  a  prolonged  sigh  and  a  fizz.  Of  course 
I  had  started  from  St.  Paul  with  that  intention  (to  go  to 
Alaska)  and  it  was  perhaps  well  to  know  that  I  had  made 
no  mistake  in  the  passage  ;  nevertheless,  it  was  a  rest  to  all 
the  senses  when  daylight  came  to  relieve  the  night-watch, 
and  unfold  the  wondrous  revelations  of  the  trans-continen- 
tal trip.  How  impotent  have  been  the  attempts  of  pen 
and  brush  to  impress  the  comprehension  with  the  reality  of 
things  seen.  In  vain  I  hold  up  my  hands  and  cry  "  'mira- 
bile."  No  two  days '  experiences  were  alike.  Each  suc- 
ceeding view  and  extended  panorama  was  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  its  predecessor,  and  one  had  hardly  time  to  be 
amazed  at  this,  before  he  was  lost  in  new  admiration  of  the 
other.  "  There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  another  of  the 
moon,  and  another  glory  of  the  stars."  Across  the  illimita- 
ble grain  fields  and  the  prairie,  through  the  mysterious 
"  Bad  lands,"  over  the  pine-clad  and  snow-capped  moun- 
tains, past  the  far-reaching  sage  plains,  and  down  the  tran- 
scendent Columbia  to  the  portals  of  the  broad  Pacific — 
every  division  of  the  grand  thoroughfare  we  traversed  was 
crammed  full  of  novelty  and  absorbing  interest.  The 
delicious  warmth  of  a  summer  atmosphere  lay  over  all,  and 
delightful  anticipations  continually  gave  place  to  blissful 
realization. 

The  tourist  no  sooner  strikes  the  Columbia  River  than  he 
seems  to  have  gotten  into  a  new  kingdom  of  creation.  The 
sudden  transition  from  an  interminable  sage  plain  of  more 
than  one  hundred  miles  in  breadth  to  vertical  cliffs  and  pal- 
isades which  rise  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  sheer  out  of  the 
river — this  unexpected  step  from  the  unlimited  horizontal  to 
the  unattainable  perpendicular — is  of  itself  phenomenal. 
Then  the  architecture  of  the  rocks  and  hills  is  different  from 
any  thing  east.  The  rivers  flow  in  mighty  volume,  green  as 
emerald,  and  plunge  into  black  rifts  and  chasms,  churning 
their  sides  with  foam.  Shifting  sands  in  their  exposed  beds 
blow  into  fantastic  dunes  and  bury  the  underbrush  along 
the  shores  until  only  their  leafy  tops  protrude.  Waterfalls 
leap  from  dizzy  heights,  emulating  the  Yosemite.  The 
vegetation  is  luxuriant,  and  all  the  field  of  flora  is  new. 
Every  thing  is  gigantic.  The  common  alder  bush  grows  to 
merchantable  wood,  and  the  principal  forest  trees  into  giant 
columns  six  feet  thick.  The  orchards  break  down  with 
redundant  fruitage,  and  whenever  there  is  a  neglected  gar- 
den patch  the  sweet  briars  and  wild  vines  overrun  the  in- 
closing fences  and  bury  them  out  of  sight.  Mosses  cling  to 
the  limbs  of  trees  in  solid  masses  and  festoons,  and  cover 


12  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

prostrate  trunks  ten  i.iches  deep.  All  along  the  route  from 
the  Dalles  to  Portland  are  gangs  of  Chinese,  section-hands, 
at  work  along  the  railroad  with  costumes  quaint  and  scanty, 
and  features  bland  and  child-like.  It  was  against  those  ver- 
tical walls  which  overhang  the  Columbia,  that  they  swung 
the  indomitable  heathen  from  the  heights  aloft,  to  drill  and 
blast  a  passage  for  the  railroad  out  of  the  solid  rock.  I 
know  not  how  many  dozens  lost  their  lives  in  the  dangerous 
exploit,  but  inasmuch  as  they  stood  substitute  and  proxy  for 
supposed  better  men,  this  little  trifle  can  hardly  enter  into 
the  "  Chinese  Question." 

Of  course  all  tourists  rhapsodize  the  notable  points  of 
view  along  the  river — the  Dalles,  Cape  Horn,  the  Cascades, 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  Rooster  Rock  and  Multnomah  Falls, 
each  of  which,  if  isolated  and  apart,  instead  of  contiguous 
to  each  other,  would  constitute  an  attraction  which  tourists 
would  travel  far  to  visit.  Not  the  least  interesting  novel- 
ties are  the  fish-wheels  along  the  shores,  both  portable  and 
stationary,  which  scoop  up  the  running  salmon  from  March 
to  August  by  the  tens  of  thousands,  looking  for  all  the 
world  like  the  obsolete  mill-wheels  of  New  England. 
Occasionally  little  groups  of  Oregon  Indians  come  in  view, 
seeming  one-third  civilized  and  two-thirds  blanket.  In  vain, 
however,  we  look  for  the  spectral  outlines  of  Mount  Hood 
and  other  notable  peaks,  for  all  the  atmosphere  is  thick 
with  smoke  of  forest  fires  which  have  spread  all  over  the 
country  ;  and  for  six  weeks  past  no  one  has  drawn  a  breath 
of  pure  air,  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  notoriously  moist 
and  fog-ridden  region  pray  for  rain.  In  course  of  time  we 
come  to  a  comfortable  halt  at  the  romantic  little  station  of 
Bonneville,  where  a  breakfast  is  served  with  more  than 
Oriental  profusion  of  melons,  fruits  and  vegetables  in  every 
grown  variety,  and  with  milk  and  eggs,  poultry,  fish  and 
meats,  and  every  thing  else  toothsome  and  edible,  piled  on 
platters  three  tiers  deep  until  the  table  holds  no  more — 
and  still  the  waiters  come  with  reinforcements,  hands  full, 
and  loaded  to  the  "  gunnel."  It  seemed  to  the  parched 
and  dusty  travelers  from  the  arid  sage  plain,  just  now  left 
behind,  as  if  they  had  suddenly  struck  an  oasis  and  every 
thing  had  been  knocked  into  pie  by  the  collision.  The 
markets  of  Oregon  and  California  were  emptied  out  upon 
the  board  ;  Ceres  and  Pomona  sat  helpless  with  their  laps 
full.  With  this  wide-open  welcome  the  brief  additional 
run  to  Portland  was  made  without  apprehension,  although 
the  approaching  city  could  not  be  distinguished  through 
the  murk. 


ITINERARY.  13 

There  is  a  reputable  tradition  that  when  the  atmosphere 
is  clear,  a  view  can  be  had  from  points  of  vantage  whose 
unfolding  is  like  a  revelation  of  the  celestial  realm.  Afar 
off  in  the  horizon,  just  where  the  intense  blue  firmament 
seems  to  flank  the  spirit  land,  a  trio  of  snowy  peaks  loom 
up  from  the  somber  plain  in  clear  cut  whiteness  against  the 
sky,  like  pyramids  of  crystal,  Mt.  Hood  conspicuous  and 
majestic  above  the  rest.  Rising  in  their  purity  to  the  very 
dome  of  heaven,  and  gleaming  with  a  translucence  super- 
natural, positive  yet  most  intangible,  they  stand,  as  it  were, 
the  embodiment  of  the  EternalTrinity — not  mere  reflections 
of  this  material  world.  It  is  seldom  that  this  beatific 
vision  comes,  even  to  patient  watchers  ;  for  fogs  and  mists 
obscure  them  in  the  spring,  and  clouds  of  smoke  hang  over 
them  all  the  summer  long ;  but  if,  perchance,  September 
rains  should  purify  the  air  and  lift  the  lowering  veil,  they 
appear  momentarily  to  the  world  as  the  reflex  of  the  divine 
transfiguration.  As  such,  I  beheld  as  one  privileged.  The 
time-favored  denizens  of  Portland  could  not  appreciate  it 
more. 

I  don't  know  why  tourists  prefer  to  take  the  Alaska 
steamer  from  Portland  via  Columbia  River,  and  its  dis- 
tressful bar,  with  the  supplementary  and  outside  passage  to 
Victoria,  instead  of  choosing  the  Puget  Sound  route, 
except  that  they  can  thereby  secure  their  berths  for  the 
voyage  and  survey  serenely  the  subsequent  scramble  for 
places  when  the  overland  passengers  arrive  on  board.  The 
consideration  is  certainly  important,  but  the  experienced 
voyager  can  secure  equal  comforts  by  correspondence  with 
the  officials  of  the  steamship  company.  One  who  took  the 
river  route  writes  : 

"  The  Lower  Columbia  has  none  of  the  grand  and  sub- 
lime scenery  of  the  Upper  Columbia,  where  it  breaks  its  way 
through  the  Cascade  Mountains,  but  it  has  a  picturesque 
beauty  an  its  own,  wooded  isles  and  bold  headlands,  the 
river  banks  being  high,  wooded  bluffs,  with  mountains  in 
the  background.  We  had  an  occasional  picture  of  lovely 
level  farms  lying  along  the  river  and  stretching  back  for 
miles,  but  such  glimpses  of  cultivation  were  rare.  Settle- 
ments were  few.  At  about  four  in  the  afternoon  we 
reached  Astoria,  which  is  fifteen  miles  from  the  sea  ;  and 
to-day  we  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  from  which  we 
could  see  the  breakers  on  the  bar.  Astoria  is  quite  a  pretty 
town,  has  a  population  of  five  or  six  thousand,  and  its  chief 
industries,  fish  and  lumber,  remain  the  same  in  kind  as 
when  John  Jacob  Astor  established  his  trading  post  here. 


M  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

The  best  part  of  the  town,  in  regard  to  residence,  is  back 
on  the  hills,  which  rise  steep  and  near  to  the  shore,  while 
the  business  part  is  built  on  piles  over  tide  water." 

An  eight  hours'  ride  by  rail  is  a  moderate  journey,  and 
while  the  steamer  is  buffeting  the  waves  of  the  outside  pas- 
sage, the  overland  tourist  from  Portland  to  Tacoma  is  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  the  superb  hostelry  at  the 
head  of  the  sound,  and  perchance  to  view  the  snow-crested 
peak  of  Mt.  Tacoma,  standing  out  in  its  virgin  purity,  like 
a  spirit  of  retrospection  against  the  deep  blue  background 
of  sky.  On  it  there  are  glaciers  equal  in  size  to  those 
found  among  the  Alps.  He  may  also  observe  the  humble 
houses  under  the  hill  by  the  cove,  where  the  presence  of  a 
half  dozen  Chinese  small  merchants  was  permitted  for 
years  to  vex  the  equanimity  of  7,000  people,  but  now  hav- 
ing been  charitably  wiped  out,  is  obnoxious  no  more. 
From  Tacoma  to  Victoria  there  is  a  six  hours'  sail  across  a 
long  reach  of  the  sound  by  the  splendid  steamer  "  Olym- 
pian," palatial  as  any  in  the  east,  and  electric-lighted  in 
every  apartment.  On  the  route  is  Seattle,  a  goodly  brick- 
built  city  of  many  thousand  souls,  long  ago  made  histori- 
cal by  its  four  days'  war  with  a  "  barbarian  horde  "of 
Chinese  140  strong  ;  then  Port  Townsend,  the  lands'  end 
of  our  western  possessions  before  Alaska,  perched  high 
upon  a  perpendicular  bluff  whose  top  is  reached  by  a  hun- 
dred steps,  with  the  mercantile  traffic  properly  bestowed 
upon  the  flat  below.  At  every  intermediate  hamlet  and 
landing  there  is  a  saw-mill,  with  the  primitive  forest  for  a 
background  and  reminder  of  its  purpose.  On  every  side 
there  are  intimations  of  the  country's  recent  settlement  and 
the  presence  of  the  wilderness.  Indian  dug-out  canoes  of 
fantastic  shapes  with  carved  prows,  steal  quietly  along  the 
shadowy  shores,  or  cross  the  open  water  between  the 
embowered  islands.  Up  and  down,  with  every  sweep  of  the 
eye,  this  notable  Mediterranean  stretches  its  majestic  length 
of  two  hundred  miles  ;  at  times  a  broad  expanse,  anon  no 
wider  than  a  river,  with  many  a  point  and  promontory 
and  curve  of  shore,  roadsteads  tortuous,  channels  narrow, 
and  water  bluer  than  the  reflected  skies,  dotted  with 
islands,  indented  with  umbrageous  recesses  where  the 
unsuspicious  fish  breaks  the  quiet  surface,  and  offering  in 
every  littoral  dell  and  sweep  of  forest  such  delights  as 
sportsmen  covet  and  endure  long  journeys  to  enjoy.  And 
yet,  on  every  side  are  budding  hamlets  and  thrifty  settle- 
ments with  airs  of  comfort,  farms  and  hop-fields,  and  busy 
saw-mills,  and  great  ships  sailing  filled  with  surplus  wheat, 


ITINERARY.  1 5 

and  steamboats  plying  hither  and  yon — all  significant  of 
energetic  industry  and  a  prosperous  future.  It  is  said  that 
a  hundred  steamboats  ply  the  waters  of  the  sound. 

But  the  speculative  tourist,  looking  far  beyond,  Alaska- 
ward,  is  not  content  to  abide.  Victoria,  the  entrepot  of 
British  Columbia,  claims  direct  attention,  and  there  is  not  a 
surer  refuge  or  resting  place  for  the  sea-worn  and  wayfar- 
ing than  the  land-locked  basin  which  forms  its  harbor. 
While  the  good  ship  which  is  to  take  us  onward  waits  at 
her  dock,  and  the  purser  and  steward  are  making  out  their 
lists,  we  have  two  days  on  shore  to  see  the  town.  There  is 
a  commodious  hotel,  called  the  "  Driard,"  where  the  most 
exacting  guest  can  be  made  comfortable.  It  is  quite  up  to 
the  modern  standard,  built  of  stone,  and  occupies  half  a 
square  ;  containing  within  its  walls  a  creditable  Opera 
House,  which  alone  cost  $50,000  to  construct.  Its  landlord 
is  a  dapper  Louisiana  Frenchman,  acquainted  with  every 
body  in  the  two  countries,  and  therefore  a  companionable 
host  for  strangers  to  meet,  having  no  race  prejudices  and 
providing  plenty  to  eat.  [Burnt  now  and  landlord  dead.  J 
dead.] 

This  far-western  city  is  as  substantial  as  it  is  charming. 
Started  originally  as  a  fur  company's  post,  and  afterward 
boomed  into  importance  by  the  Fraser  River  mining  excite- 
ment of  1858,  time  has  proved  that  other  than  even  extran- 
eous causes  have  contributed  to  its  prosperity  and  growth. 
All  the  steamer  lines  of  the  Province  center  at  Victoria, 
whence  they  reach  all  coast  ports  where  settlements  have 
been  made,  and  penetrate  far  into  the  interior  by  ascending 
the  Fraser  River  and  other  water-ways  ;  and  trade  increases 
constantly  in  proportion  as  the  tributary  settlements  and 
industries  expand.  The  flags  were  all  at  half  mast  the  day 
I  arrived,  in  commemoration  of  the  Grant  obsequies,  and 
my  heart  warmed  toward  the  good  people  for  their  respect 
shown  to  our  great  captain.  Travelers  say  the  town  is 
intensely  English  in  its  composition.  If  so,  it  has  a  warm 
corner  for  its  neighbors,  and  the  "  English  of  it "  is  good 
will.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  town-site  has  been  set 
aside  and  designated  as  "  Beacon  Hill  Park,"  with  winding 
drives,  gentle  undulations,  conspicuous  eminences,  majes- 
tic trees,  and  a  wonderful  outlook  toward  the  seas  where 
some  small  earthworks  and  great  guns  frown  imperiously  ; 
but  to  me  the  entire  location  seemed  like  a  natural  park, 
with  its  numerous  bridges  and  points  of  rock,  its  pictur- 
esque bays  and  inlets,  its  islands  and  bits  of  beach,  its 
clusters  of  trees  and  luxuriant  gardens,  every  eminence 
crowned  with  a  modern  villa    every  cove  cuddling  a  cosy 


1 6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

cottage,  and  all  the  well-built  business  blocks  occupying  a 
curve  of  the  land-locked  harbor,  constituting  a  picture  of 
solid  comfort  and  natural  beauty  which  grew  more  and 
more  attractive  as  it  became  familiar.  There  was  just 
enough  shipping  to  give  the  place  an  air  of  importance — 
some  square-rigged  vessels,  some  steamers,  and  a  few  old 
hulks  which  were  well  nigh  past  service.  Here  lay  the  old 
Hudson  Bay  steamer  "  Beaver,"  which  crossed  the  ocean 
in  1832.  It  is  said  she  has  cheese  aboard  now  which  she 
brought  then.  Here  was  the  "  Otter,"  which  laid  the  sub- 
marine cable,  and  the  "  Wilson  G.  Hunt,"  once  p^ing  in 
New  York  waters.  Up  the  gorge,  where  the  tide  flows 
furiously,  except  at  slack  and  flood,  is  a  famous  place  for 
catching  sea-trout  with  rod  and  fly.  Everywhere  about  the 
bay  Indian  canoes  were  plying,  and  there  were  groups  of 
tents  on  shore,  with  hectic  salmon  spread  on  neighboring 
rocks  to  dry.  The  dusky  groups  carelessly  disposed  about 
the  grass,  men,  women,  and  children,  in  motley  dress,  sit- 
ting on  native  mats,  and  skins  of  mountain  goats,  knitting, 
mending  clothes,  plaiting  baskets,  lounging,  or  lazily  turn- 
ing the  half-cured  fish,  resemble  a  gypsy  camp  or  holiday 
picnic,  so  civilized  are  their  appearance  and  surroundings. 
Few  visible  traces  of  aboriginal  barbarism  remain,  only  some 
rude  lip  ornament,  or  cherished  habit  almost  obsolete,  or 
amulet,  or  knick-knack,  transmitted  from  their  remote 
progenitors.  Red,  black  and  yellow  colors  predominate  in 
their  rustic  fancy, — yellow  scarfs  for  the  head  or  neck,  red 
for  shawls  or  jackets,  and  black  for  frocks  and  skirts  of 
women.  In  the  city  streets  we  see  the  girls  in  pairs  loll  up 
to  the  shop  windows  with  the  easy  abandon  of  habitues, 
laughing  outright  with  delight  at  the  glittering  objects  dis- 
played, as  much  enraptured  and  absorbed  as  a  cat  in  catnip. 
Three  generations  of  intercourse  with  white  people  whose 
policy  has  been  justice  and  humanity  and  tempered  with 
firmness,  have  won  their  confidence.  They  were  treated 
kindly  from  the  start,  and  no  white  man  was  permitted  to  do 
them  an  injustice  without  being  punished  for  his  conduct. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  made  to  understand  that  they 
were  equally  amenable  to  wrong  doing.  They  were  also 
given  employment  in  pursuits  suited  to  their  proclivities 
and  aptitude,  which  brought  them  food,  trinkets,  and  cloth- 
ing they  had  before  been  destitute  of,  whereby  they  learned 
the  value  of  friendly  relations  with  the  new-comers.  Hence- 
forth we  shall  find  them  an  omnipresent  quantity  along  the 
coast,  varying  somewhat  in  features,  habits,  disposition  and 
intelligence,  but  all  well-disposed  and  tractable.     Here  in 


rfTXERARY.  17 

Victoria  the  tourist  can  pick  up  much  information  of 
Alaska,  together  with  curios,  photographs  of  scenery,  maps 
of  route  and  itineraries,  not  to  omit  a  "  Chinook  "  dictionary 
which  will  be  useful  to  him  at  all  times,  and  indispensable 
if  he  wishes  to  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities  to  trade 
with  the  natives  and  learn  the  ways  of  the  people  ;  all  of 
which  he  can  buy  cheaper  for  cash  than  up  the  coast. 

The  most  interesting  and  aesthetic  part  of  Victoria  is 
the  Chinese  quarter,  which  is  a  cleanly  business  suburb  of 
solid  red  brick  blocks,  with  buildings  two  and  three  stories 
high  ornamented  with  green  verandas.  Some  of  the  stories 
and  shops  are  very  spacious,  with  superb  fittings  of  gilt, 
tapestry  and  carved  work,  comprising  stocks  of  general 
merchandise,  drugs,  spices  and  specialties.  One  of  these 
Chinamen  is  said  to  own  real  estate  within  the  limits  worth 
$200,000.  I  took  occasion  to  go  through  all  parts  of  their 
reserve,  into  their  theaters,  joss  housesandhousesof  pleasure, 
into  their  opium  joints  and  their  squalid  and  poverty-worn 
tenements  where  a  dozen  personsare  herded  together  inasin- 
gle  room,  and  was  compelled  to  change  the  impression  which  I 
had  formed  from  popular  hear-say.  The  worst  I  saw  was  not 
half  as  foul  and  repulsive  as  the  slums  of  some  populous 
eastern  cities,  outside  of  New  York.  They  have  a  comforta- 
ble building  where  they  board  and  lodge  their  kinsfolk  when 
they  first  arrive,  or  when  sick,  or  out  of  work,  or  on  a  visit 
from  the  interior.  It  is  a  sort  of  hotel-hospital.  There 
are  no  Chinese  beggars,  for  "  John  "  takes  care  of  his  own 
in  purse  and  person,  and  will  even  return  their  dead  bodies 
to  China,  if  desired.  The  impression  that  the  return  of 
dead  Chinamen  is  imperative,  is  a  myth,  and  absurd  on  the 
face  of  it  ;  but  the  prejudiced  will  believe  any  thing.  I 
found  them  engaged  in  every  kind  of  occupation,  except 
the  very  highest,  and  was  amazed  at  their  general  thrift, 
sobriety,  and  intelligence.  The  policy  of  the  Canadians  to- 
ward these  Mongolians  is  much  more  liberal  than  ours, — as 
it  has  been  with  the  Indians, — and  in  course  of  time  they  will 
surely  profit  by  it.  In  British  Columbia  the  occidental 
section  of  the  Flowery  Kingdom  blooms  and  blossoms  as 
the  rose — a  tea  rose,  as  it  were,  whose  fine  points,  not  all 
of  thorns,  might  be  studied  with  advantage  if  we  would 
only  take  the  cue.  But  it  is  whispered  in  the  inner  chamber 
that  the  days  of  the  cue  are  numbered.  The  conditions 
of  a  mighty  dispensation  are  about  to  be  fulfilled.  The 
time  is  near  at  hand  when  the  Chinese  will  be  at  liberty  to 
cut  off  their  cues  and  dispense  with  their  large  sleeves. 

They  say  that  according  to  a  prophecy  in  one  of  their 


i8  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

sacred  books,  the  reigning  dynasty  that  imposed,  centuries 
ago,  the  custom  of  dress  now  in  vogue,  will  come  to  an  end, 
and  the  new  government  will  make  the  abolishment  of  both 
permissible — an  act  devoutly  hailed  by  Chinamen.  Thence- 
forth, these  insignia  of  race  distinctions  will  not  be  any  more 
imperatively  imposed.  Obstacles  to  naturalization  and 
American  citizenship  will  be  removed.  Indeed,  the  days  of 
immunity  are  already  being  anticipated,  and  scores  of 
Chinese  here  and  in  the  United  States  are  taking  out  papers. 
Leading  celestials  assert  that  the  movement  will  soon  be- 
come general,  and  that  most  of  their  people  in  the  south- 
west will  soon  proceed  to  become  American  citizens  and 
permanent  residents  ;  that  they  will  then  bring  over  their 
wives  and  children  and  spend  their  earnings  here  ;  and  that 
all  the  money  which  has  hitherto  been  sent  abroad  for  their 
support  will  be  "  blowed  into  "  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States.  Truly,  the  patience  and  long-suffering  of  the 
"  heathen,"  in  consequence  of  their  two-fold  religious  and 
political  disabilities,  are  worthy  of  admiration.  For  a  free 
country  such  inflictions  are  hard  to  bear. 

It  was  at  Victoria  that  I  first  noticed  that  exuberance  of 
vegetation  which  surprised  me  still  more  when  I  reached 
Alaska.  The  maple  leaves  were  larger  than  I  could  span  ; 
alders  grew  into  trees  ;  fruit-trees  broke  under  the  weight 
of  fruitage  ;  honeysuckles  grew  rank,  and  moss  clung  to  the 
trees  in  great  masses  ;  ferns  were  several  feet  in  length  ; 
water  melons  as  big  as  a  barrel  ;  growing  pines  ran  up  into 
the  air  indefinitely.  Everything  on  this  coast  is  gigantic, 
from  the  rocks  and  mountains  and  "  big  trees "  to  the 
Chinese  immigration,  the  forest  fires,  and  the  ambition  of 
the  politicians.  No  wonder  that  the  people  of  the  Pacific 
coast  claim  to  be  the  most  favored  in  the  world  ;  they  ab- 
sorb the  beneficence  of  the  Creator. 

Three  miles  from  Victoria,  at  Esquimault,  there  is  a  naval 
station,  with  arsenal,  hospital,  dock-yard,  and  powder  mag- 
azine, the  latter  located  on  an  island.  The  dry-dock  is  sub- 
stantially built  of  concrete  faced  with  sandstone,  and  will 
cost  when  fully  completed  a  half  million  of  dollars.  The 
harbor  is  one  of  the  deepest  and  securest  in  the  world. 


ITINERARY.— Continued. 


It  is  no  small  task  to  equip  and  provision  a  steamer,  car- 
rying two  hundred  persons,  and  get  her  under  way  for  a 
month  ;  but  finally  all  the  pigs,  and  poultry,  and  cabbages, 
and  crates  of  fruit,  and  ice,  and  carcasses  of  beef,  are  trun- 
dled aboard  and  stowed  conveniently  for  the  steward's  daily 
deal ;  the  sheep  and  hay  are  snugly  housed  between  decks, 
and  the  last  reluctant  steer  is  forced  up  the  gangway  by  a 
twist  of  the  tail  so  excruciating  that  it  wrings  out  a  sugges- 
tion of  ox-tail  soup  for  next  day's  bill  of  fare.  Then  the 
hawsers  are  cast  off,  and  the  good  ship  swings  bravely  into 
the  stream  on  the  hope  of  her  new  departure — bound  for 
Alaska. 

First,  there  is  an  eight  hour's  run  of  70  miles  to  the  Brit- 
ish port  of  Nanaimo  for  coal,  in  the  course  of  which,  if  the 
atmosphere  be  clear,  the  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Cascade 
range  of  mountains  will  appear  like  a  crystal  rampart  across 
the  sea.  There  is  a  succession  of  them,  rising  one  above 
the  other,  and  looking  as  unreal  and  ethereal  as  a  vision  of 
fairy-land.  Enchantment  of  the  voyage  begins  at  the  very 
threshold  of  departure,  and  the  first  outlook  is  exhilarating 
with  satisfying  promise.  Nanaimo  is  the  headquarters  of 
the  Vancouver  Coal  Company,  and  the  distributing  depot 
of  a  large  coal  district.  The  coal  areas  of  this  province  are 
widely  spread,  of  whose  product  San  Francisco  alone  takes 
150,000  tons  per  annum.  Departure  Bay  and  Nanaimo  are 
twin  harbors  connected  by  a  deep  narrow  channel  of  ample 
width  for  navigation.  The  town  lies  along  the  bay,  with 
streets  quite  irregular  in  conformity  with  the  sinuosities  of 
the  indented  shore  line.  A  dense  and  continuous  pine  for- 
est, underlaid  by  coal  measures,  occupies  the  back  ground. 
There  is  an  octagonal  block  house  three  stories  high,  which 
years  ago  did  duty  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Company. 
Hence,  through  the  picturesque  Strait  of  Georgia  to  the 
head  of  Vancouver,  300  miles  or  more,  there  are  islands  all 
the  way,  with  a  good  deal  of  scrub  cedar  and  fir  ;  now  and 
then  a  farm  house  and  clearing.  Every  body  on  board  the 
steamer  busily  studies  charts,  picking  out  the  course  of  the 


20  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

ship  in  advance,  and  locating  her  hourly  whereabouts.  Hour 
after  hour  there  succeeds  an  alternation  of  deep  narrow 
channels  hemmed  in  by  mountains,  and  long  reaches  of 
open  water  which  glisten  with  the  scintillations  of  the  sun. 
Deep  bays  reach  far  into  the  land,  and  projecting  points 
invite  the  lambent  breezes  of  the  sea.  Here  and  there  are 
shoals  with  warning  beacons,  and  tide-rips  churned  by 
counter-currents  into  foam,  into  which  if  a  vessel  without 
steam  be  caught,  she  drifts  on  dangers,  powerless  to  escape. 
Of  such  mischances  we  see  some  victims  now  and  then  high 
and  dry  on  sunken  reefs,  keeled  over.  Sometimes,  when 
running  close  to  land  the  jutting  ledges  seem  about  to  pour 
their  leaping  waterfalls  bodily  upon  the  deck,  and  over- 
reaching boughs  almost  brush  the  taffrail  as  we  pass.  All 
the  shores  are  lined  with  drift-wood  and  stranded  trunks  of 
enormous  trees,  weather-worn  and  naked.  The  average 
rise  of  tide  is  eighteen  feet,  and  on  the  ebb  and  flow,  its 
velocity  through  the  narrow  channels  reaches  nine  miles  an 
hour,  so  that  vessels  have  to  make  intelligent  forecast  of 
time  of  tide,  of  fogs,  and  hours  of  moonlight.  To  attempt 
the  passage  except  on  flood  and  slack  is  to  court  destruc- 
tion, for  although  the  mean  depth  of  water  is  sometimes 
seventy  fathoms,  the  tortuous  straits  are  filled  with  hidden 
rocks.  The  first  and  worst  of  these  is  "  Seymour  Rapids," 
a  passage  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  about  nine 
hours  run  from  Nanaimo  ;  and  here  in  the  awful  swell  and 
vortex  which  lashes  each  broken  shore  with  the  rage  of 
Niagara's  whirlpools,  the  U.  S.  man  of  War  "  Saranac  "  went 
down,  shivered  on  a  sunken  rock  ;  and  in  the  self-same 
place,  by  an  extraordinary  coincidence  of  mischances,  the 
steamer  "  Grapplcr"  was  burned  and  sunk.  She  was  carry- 
ing Chinese  coolies,  of  whom  seventy  vainly  struggled 
momentarily  with  the  surging  waves,  and  disappeared  ;  but 
they  do  say  that  their  bodies  periodically  come  to  the  sur- 
face, and  pitch  about  the  eddies,  with  pigtails  streaming 
wildly  in  their  wake,  though  the  more  matter-of-fact  opinion 
is  that  the  objects  seen  are  only  strings  of  kelp  drifting  on 
the  tide.  Other  dangerous  passages  are  Grenville  Strait 
and  Peril  Strait.  For  the  rest,  the  journey  is  at  present 
without  risk  or  peradventure,  and  with  ordinary  seaman- 
ship and  prudence,  depending  much  upon  experienced 
pilots,  may  be  made  with  less  discomfort  than  the  pas- 
sage of  Long  Island  Sound  ;  for  the  sweep  of  the  ocean 
blasts  seldom  reaches  these  sheltered  by-ways.  Fogs  are 
chronic,  however,  for  eight  months  of  the  year,  and  apt  to 
occur  at  early  morning,  all  the  summer  long,  though  they 


ITINERARY.  21 

do  not  interrupt  travel  ;  for  navigators  have  learned  to 
evoke  the  echoes  from  the  enfilading  walls  and  headlands 
by  resonant  blasts  of  the  steam  whistle,  and  so  estimate 
their  courses,  whereabouts,  and  distances. 

By  the  time  passengers  have  been  two  or  three  days  at 
sea,  they  get  to  know  many  of  the  tricks  of  the  ship,  as  well 
as  of  their  fellow-voyagers.  They  have  topics  in  common 
which  promote  familiar  intercourse  ;  and  so,  between  the 
scenery,  the  log,  the  bill  of  fare,  and  themselves,  they  find 
strong  ties  of  mutual  sympathy.  Furthermore,  the  sailors 
had  a  bear  aboard,  named  "  Pete,"  which  was  raised  on 
bilge  water  and  was  very  tame;  a  black  setter,  a  companion 
of  the  bear  ;  a  toy  terrier  ;  and  a  fine  tom-cat;  all  of  whose 
intellects  had  been  largely  developed  by  their  association 
with  tourists  and  shipmates.  I  know  of  no  better  training- 
school  for  bears  than  a  voyage  of  this  kind. 

From  the  head  of  Vancouver  Island  to  the  Alaskan 
frontier,  the  coast  maintains  the  same  indented  and  tortuous 
line,  flanked  by  innumerable  islands.  The  mountains 
gradually  increase  in  height,  and  at  Grenville  Narrows  they 
rise  to  fully  3,000  feet,  directly  out  of  the  sea  ;  some  of 
them  with  snowy  peaks,  and  numerous  water-falls  tumbling 
from  their  aerial  reservoirs,  but  wooded  at  the  base  with 
conifers.  As  the  civilization  of  this  region  is  mainly  apart 
from  the  route  of  the  steamer,  and  unseen  by  tourists  who 
imagine  it  all  unsettled,  I  venture  to  prompt  the  reader 
from  the  pages  of  the  West  Shore  Magazine,  so  that  erron- 
eous impressions  may  not  obtain.  Some  may  be  astonished 
at  the  proficiency  of  the  Indians,  not  long  since  savage. 

We  read  :  "  The  population  of  this  region  is  chiefly  In- 
dian, and  they  are  both  intelligent  and  industrious  ;  per- 
forming nearly  all  the  labor  of  the  two  industries — salmon 
canning  and  lumbering — which  have  gained  a  foothold 
there.  In  going  north,  Rivers  Inlet  is  the  first  reached 
where  industries  have  been  established.  At  its  head  is  sit- 
uated the  village  of  Weekeeno.  On  the  inlet  are  two  sal- 
mon canneries  and  a  saw-mill.  Bella  Coola  is  situated  at 
the  head  of  Burke  Channel,  on  the  North  Bentinck  Arm. 
It  is  the  site  of  a  Hudson's  Bay  company  post,  and  years 
ago  was  the  landing  place  for  the  Cariboo  mines.  Bella 
Coola  River  is  a  considerable  stream  entering  the  arm  from 
across  the  mountains.  Here  is  a  tract  of  some  2,000  acres 
of  rich  delta  land,  which  is  partially  cultivated  by  the  In- 
dians. Bella  Bella  is  a  Hudson's  Bay  post  on  Campbell 
Island,  near  the  head  of  Milbank  Sound,  400  miles  north  of 
Victoria.     There  are  three  Indian  villages,  with  a  combined 


22  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

population  of  500.  The  next  important  point  is  the  mouth 
of  Skeena  River,  a  large  stream  flowing  from  the  interior. 
It  is  a  prolific  salmon  stream,  and  there  are  three  canneries 
on  its  banks  ;  one  at  Aberdeen,  another  at  Inverness  Slough, 
and  a  third  at  Port  Essington,  near  its  mouth,  where  there 
is  a  small  village  of  traders,  fishermen  and  Indians.  The 
river  is  navigable  for  light  draught  steamers  as  far  as 
Mumford  Landing,  sixty  miles  inland,  and  200  miles  further 
for  canoes.  There  are  two  missionary  stations  on  the  river, 
and  along  its  course  are  many  spots  favorable  for  settle- 
ments. 

"  Sixteen  miles  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Skeena  is  the 
town  of  Metlakahtla,  on  the  Tsimpsheean  Peninsula.  There 
are  a  store,  salmon  cannery,  a  large  church  and  school- 
house.  This  is  an  Indian  missionary  station,  about  which  are 
gathered  fully  1,000  Tsimpsheean  Indians,  who  have  been 
taught  many  of  the  mechanical  arts.  They  have  a  saw- 
mill, barrel  factory,  blacksmith  shop  ;  live  in  good  wooden 
houses;  do  the  work  at  the  cannery,  and  are  industrious  in 
many  other  ways  ;  the  women  having  learned  the  art  of 
weaving  woolen  fabrics.  Fifteen  miles  beyond  Metlakahtla, 
on  the  northwest  end  of  the  same  peninsula,  is  the  impor- 
tant station  of  Fort  Simpson,  separated  from  Alaska  Terri- 
tory by  the  channel  of  Portland  Inlet.  This  is  one  of  the 
finest  harbors  in  British  Columbia,  and  was  for  years  the 
most  important  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the 
upper  country,  furs  being  brought  there  from  the  vast  inte- 
rior. Besides  the  company's  post,  the  Methodist  Mission 
has  buildings  valued  at  $9,000.  There  are  about  800 
Indians  in  the  village,  most  of  them  living  in  good  shingled 
houses  and  wearing  civilized  costumes.  They  are  governed 
by  a  council,  and  have  various  organizations,  including  a 
temperance  society,  rifle  company,  fire  company  and  a  brass 
band.  They  earn  much  money  in  the  fisheries.  Forty 
miles  up  the  Portland  Channel  is  the  mouth  of  Nass 
River,  a  very  important  stream  in  the  fishing  industry, 
being  the  greatest  known  resort  of  the  oolachan.  Two  sal- 
mon canneries,  a  saw-mill,  store,  two  missionary  stations 
and  several  Indian  villages  are  situated  along  the  stream. 
The  climate  is  favorable  to  the  growth  of  fruit,  cereals  and 
root  crops  near  the  coast,  and  there  are  a  number  of  quite 
extensive  tracts  of  bottom  lands,  requiring  only  to  be 
cleared  to  render  them  fit  for  agriculture  or  grazing. 
Further  up  the  stream  there  are  a  number  of  good  locations, 
and  several  settlements  have  been  made.  Gold  is  found  in 
small  quantities  along  the  river. 


ITINERARY.  23 

"  A  special  feature  of  the  province  is  the  outlying  group 
of  large  islands  known  as  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  the 
upper  end  lying  nearly  opposite  the  southern  extremity  of 
Alaska.  They  are  three  in  number — Graham,  Moresby  and 
Provost — and  are  about  170  miles  long  and  100  wide.  They 
are  mountainous  and  heavily  timbered,  and  the  climate  is 
more  genial  and  the  rainfall  less  than  on  the  mainland  coast, 
Along  the  northern  end  of  Graham,  the  most  northerly  of 
the  group,  is  a  tract  of  low  lands  thirty-five  miles  in  extent, 
and  much  level,  arable  land  is  to  be  found  elsewhere,  which 
only  requires  clearing.  There  are  also  many  extensive 
marshy  flats  requiring  drainage  to  render  them  fit  for  culti- 
vation. The  mineral  resources  of  the  islands  are  undoubt- 
edly great.  The  only  industry  now  established  is  the  fac- 
tory of  the  Skidegate  Oil  Company,  on  Skidegate  Island  in 
a  good  harbor  at  the  southern  end  of  Graham  Island.  In 
connection  with  this  is  a  store.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company 
has  a  store  and  a  trading  post  at  Massett,  near  the  upper 
end  of  Graham's  Island,  where  there  are  a  Protestant  Mis- 
sion and  a  large  Indian  village. 

"  There  are  several  villages  on  each  of  the  islands  of  the 
group  which  are  occupied  by  Hydah  Indians,  the  most  in- 
telligent of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  coast.  Their 
origin,  in  the  absence  of  any  written  record  or  historical 
inscriptions,  is  an  interesting  subject  for  speculation.  Their 
features,  tattooing,  carvings  and  legends  indicate  that  they 
are  castaways  from  Eastern  Asia,  who,  first  reaching  the 
islands  of  Southern  Alaska,  soon  took  and  held  exclusive 
possession  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  group.  Their  physical 
and  intellectual  superiority  over  the  North  Coast  Indians, 
and  also  marked  contrasts  in  the  structure  of  their  language, 
denote  a  different  origin.  They  are  of  good  size,  with  ex- 
ceptionably  well  developed  chests  and  arms,  high  foreheads 
and  lighter  complexion  than  any  other  North  American 
Indians. 

"  Massett,  the  principal  and  probably  oldest  village  of  the 
Hydah  Nation,  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  north  shore  of 
Graham  Island  at  the  entrance  to  Massett  Inlet.  Fifty 
houses,  great  and  small,  built  of  cedar  logs  and  planks,  with 
a  forest  of  carved  poles  in  front,  extend  along  the  fine 
beach.  The  house  of  Chief  Weeah,  is  fifty-five  feet  square, 
containing  timbers  of  immense  size,  and  planks  three  feet 
and  one-half  in  width  and  eighteen  inches  thick.  The  vil- 
lage now  has  a  population  of  about  250,  the  remnants  of  a 
once  numerous  people,  the  houses  in  ruins  here  having 
accommodated  several  times  that  number.     Massett  is  the 


24  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

shipyard  of  the  Hydahs,  the  best  canoe-makers  on  the  con- 
tinent, who  supply  them  to  the  other  coast  tribes.  Here 
may  be  seen  in  all  stages  of  construction  these  canoes,  which, 
when  completed,  are  such  perfect  models  for  service  and  of 
beauty.  This  is  the  abode  of  the  aristocracy  of  Hydah 
land.  Other  villages  are  the  offshoots  from  the  parent 
colony,  caused  by  family  and  tribal  feuds  and  quarrels." 

Although  not  included  within  the  limits  of  Alaska,  being 
some  fifteen  miles  south  of  its  frontier,  I  am  pleased  to 
be  able  to  give  fair  sketches  of  the  remarkable  Indian  settle- 
ment of  Metlakahtla,  above  referred  to,  not  only  as  an  in- 
stance of  the  advanced  state  of  civilization  to  which  some 
of  the  Pacific  coast  Indians  have  already  been  brought,  but 
because  it  is  an  earnest  of  the  enviable  results  which  must 
surely  crown  our  own  endeavors,  if  properly  applied,  and 
therefore  an  encouragement  to  persevere. 

Metlakahtla  is  truly  the  full  realization  of  the  missionaries' 
dream  of  aboriginal  restoration.  The  population  is  1,200, 
and  there  are  but  six  white  persons  in  the  place.  Like  the 
mission  Indians  at  Fort  Simpson,  its  residents  have  also  a 
rifle  company  of  forty-two  men,  a  brass  band,  a  two  gun 
battery,  a  cooper  shop,  and  a  large  co-operative  store  where 
almost  any  thing  obtainable  in  Victoria  can  be  bought.  We 
visited  this  port  on  our  return  trip  from  Sitka,  and  were 
received  with  displays  of  bunting  from  various  points,  and 
a  five-gun  salute  from  the  battery,  with  Yankee  Doodle  and 
Dixie  from  the  band  of  thirteen  pieces.  The  Union-Jack 
was  flying.  The  church  is  architecturally  pretentious  and 
can  seat  800  persons.  It  has  a  belfry  and  spire,  vestibule, 
gallery  across  the  front  end,  groined  arches  and  pulpit 
carved  by  hand,  organ  and  choir,  Brussels  carpet  in  the  aisles, 
stained  glass  windows,  and  all  the  appointments  and  em- 
bellishments of  a  first  class  sanctuary  ;  and  it  is  wholly 
native  handiwork  !  This  well  ordered  community  occupy 
two-story  shingled  and  clap-boarded  dwelling  houses  of  uni- 
form size,  25x50  feet,  with  three  windows  and  gable  ends  and 
door  in  front,  and  inclosed  flower  gardens,  and  macada- 
mized sidewalks  ten  feet  wide  along  the  entire  line  of  street. 
The  chief  peculiarity  of  these  houses  is,  that  none  of  them 
have  chimneys,  the  apartments  being  heated  by  fires  built 
on  hearths  in  the  center  of  the  ground  floor,  and  the  smoke 
passing  out  through  a  flat  cupola  in  the  roof,  after  the  fashion 
of  Indian  tenements  in  general.  These  people  have  also  a 
large  town  hall  or  assembly  room  of  the  same  capacity  as 
the  church,  capable  of  accommodating  the  whole  population. 
It  is  used  for  councils,  balls,  meetings,  and  for  a  drill  room. 


ITINERARY.  25 

It  is  warmed  by  three  great  fires  placed  in  the  center  of  the 
building,  and  lighted  by  side  lamps.  The  people  dress 
very  tastefully  in  modern  garb,  and  I  am  not  sure  but  they 
have  the  latest  fashions.  The  women  weave  the  cloth  for 
all  the  garments,  and  there  are  gardens  which  afford  vege- 
tables and  fruit  in  abundance.  It  is  as  cleanly  and  orderly 
as  the  most  punctilious  Shaker  settlement.  A  fine  assort- 
ment of  Hydah  utensils,  plaques,  and  carved  work  is  on 
sale  here.  For  exquisite  beauty  and  quaint  designs,  there 
is  nothing  like  Hydah  ware  to  be  found  on  the  whole  coast. 
A  most  beautiful  table  service  of  many  pieces  is  on  view  at 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  in  Washington,  carved  from 
black  talcose  slate.  [This  entire  community  soon  after- 
wards moved  bodily  across  the  channel  to  Annette  Island, 
started  a  new  town  with  up-to-date  improvements,  and  is 
now  on  Alaskan  soil  under  jurisdiction  of  the  U.  S.] 

From  this  point  to  American  soil  the  distance  is  short 
and  noteworthy.  The  transition  from  the  neat  and 
thrifty  settlements  left  behind  to  the  dilapidated  and  half- 
deserted  line  of  buildings — formerly  a  Russian  trading  post 
of  rank,  but  now  the  U.  S.  port  of  entry  of  Alaska,  is 
not  flattering  to  spread-eagle  pride.  When  the  weather- 
stained  Custom  House  officer  formally  comes  on  deck, 
conscientious  American  citizens  "  go  below."  It  was 
said  that  nothing  remunerative  to  any  body  ever  fol- 
lowed his  official  visits.  Usually  it  was  "  too  foggy " 
for  him  to  discover  the  vessel,  and  this  fog  became 
so  constitutionally  prevalent  in  all  that  district  that  smug- 
gled goods  were  nowhere  apparent  until,  one  unpropitious 
day  last  February,  Collector  Beecher  by  some  timely  hint 
conveyed  through  the  circumlocution  office,  was  enabled  to 
unearth  at  Tongass  no  less  than  $45,000  worth  of  opium 
packed  in  casks  purporting  to  cover  furs.  However,  the 
Territorial  regime  is  full  of  irregularities,  affecting  other 
things  than  revenue,  all  of  which  will  be  speedily  corrected 
whenever  domestic  order  shall  succeed  official  chaos.  But 
I  shall  venture  no  reflections.  I  will  hold  no  "  mirror  up 
to  nature,"  for  never  did  nature  see  herself  to  better  ad- 
vantage than  upon  that  early  morn  at  Tongass.  There  was 
no  fog  then  ;  the  early  sun  had  scarcely  risen  ;  and  all  the 
morning  lights  which  painters  find  it  so  difficult  to  limn, 
filled  the  firmament  with  their  transparency.  Not  only  the 
trees  and  rocks,  and  mountains,  the  moss,  the  kelp,  the 
gulls  on  wing,  the  reek  of  the  smoke-stack,  and  the  rosy 
glow  of  morn,  but  even  the  fleecy  films  of  vapor  which,  in 
voluptuous  summer  float  high  in  the   upper   air — the  lace- 


26  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

like  canopy  embroidered  on  the  blue — were  mirrored  on 
the  water  ;  and  each  individual  wave  upturned  by  the  cleav- 
ing prow  formed  reduplicating  mirrors,  like  the  facets  of  a 
gem,  reflecting  a  consummate  picture  in  each  one.  It  was 
a  moment  of  perfect  earthly  peace.  The  impressionable 
young  ladies  on  board  declared  that  it  was  "just  too  lovely 
for  any  thing."  These  little  maids  from  school  all  keep 
faithful  diaries  of  the  happenings  aboard  ship,  nautical  and 
social,  the  distances  run  each  day,  the  places  called  at,  what 
the  steward  laid  for  dinner,  how  many  chickens  there  are 
left  in  coop,  what  the  captain  told  them  sub  rosa,  and  all 
the  special  and  private  information  to  be  picked  up  in  the 
purser's  state-room,  and  the  "after-run."  They  make 
themselves  "  solid  "  with  the  officers,  tip  the  steward  and 
waiters,  and  even  button-hole  the  first  officer  for  best  boats 
when  little  side  excursions  are  afoot,  for  on  those  Alaska 
journeys  frequent  opportunities  are  offered  to  go  ashore  at 
the  regular  landings, of  which  there  may  be  ten,  besides  spe- 
cial trips  to  places  of  universal  interest ;  after  each  visit  the 
cabins  and  state-rooms  are  littered  with  ferns,  mosses,  wild 
flowers,  clam  shells,  bits  of  mineral,  slippery  kelps,  Indian 
curios  and  souvenirs  of  all  sorts  brought  aboard.  One  of 
these  little  exploring  parties  once  came  across  a  member  of 
the  ship's  crew  digging  a  hole  in  the  ground  on  a  secluded 
point,  and  when  he  told  them  he  was  to  get  three  dol- 
lars for  burying  a  dead  Chinaman  who  had  been  sent  over 
from  the  steamer  in  the  yawl,  they  were  paralyzed.  The 
body  lay  on  the  ground  beside  him,  covered  with  a  coat. 
In  their  view  such  a  summary  disposal  of  a  corpse  was  not 
at  all  in  accordance  with  civilized  customs,  but  it  seemed  to 
be  approved  in  Alaska.  This  incident  was  of  course  duly 
noticed  in  the  diaries,  with  comments.  So  also  was  the  ad- 
venture of  the  "  rooster  and  the  cook."  The  chicken  coop, 
it  seems,  stood  on  the  hurricane  deck  in  the  lee  of  one  of 
the  paddle-boxes,  and  passengers  would  often  stop  on  their 
matutinal  turns  aloft  to  inspect  or  feed  the  feathered 
inmates,  and  speculate  upon  the  uncertainties  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  galley  life.  On  these  occasions  the  chickens  were 
always  inclined  to  be  sociable  and  would  scuffle  with  each 
other  for  donations  ;  but  it  was  remembered  that  whenever 
the  cook  or  his  assistant,  both  of  whom  were  Chinamen,  ap- 
proached the  coop,  the  apprehensive  flock  fled  to  the  rear 
and  bunched  up  in  the  corners.  They  knew  the  difference, 
and  no  wonder  !  One  by  one  the  fatted  victims  were  sum- 
marily withdrawn  and  served  as  soup  or  fricassee,  until  at 
last  the  cutest  of  them  all,  an  old  rooster  who  had  hitherto 


ITINERARY.  2j 

evaded  the  intruded  hand,  was  fairly  cornered  ;  yet  he  did 
not  succumb  nor  faint.  Watching  his  chance,  he  slipped 
John's  grip,  and  getting  free  on  deck,  at  last  he  gave  both 
the  Chinamen  a  desperate  chase  around  the  texas  and  the 
smoke-stacks,  this  way,  and  that  way,  and  back  again, 
headed  off  at  every  turn,  feathers  flying,  pig-tails  streaming, 
all  hands  cackling  and  squawling,  and  every  passenger  look- 
ing on  quite  interested.  At  last,  utterly  exhausted,  the 
rooster  was  neatly  coraled  in  a  bunch  of  life-preservers 
(which  were  nothing  to  him  then),  when  he  suddenly  took 
wing,  and  with  one  defiant  and  despairing  shriek,  flew  over- 
board and  was  drowned  !  He  deliberately  committed  sui- 
cide rather  than  go  to  pot ;  so  he  escaped  the  ignominy,  but 
the  passengers  lost  their  salad. 

I  am  quite  sure,  if  I  desired  a  complete  epitome  of  the 
voyage,  with  no  details  omitted,  I  could  find  it  in  one  of 
these  same  records;  but  as  I  am  not  likely  to  meet  any  of 
these  "  Vassar  Girls  Abroad,"  it  only  remains  for  me  to  re- 
cite the  bare  fact  of  our  due  arrival  at  Wrangell,  which  was 
fifteen  years  earlier  of  considerable  importance,  where 
large  parties  fitted  out  daily  for  the  Stickeen  mines  located 
nearly  three  hundred  miles  inland  across  the  country  in 
British  Columbia.  There  the  whole  region  is  even  now 
filled  with  deserted  cabins.  There  was  a  temporary  glim- 
mer of  brightness  for  Alaskan  prospects,  in  the  first  dawn 
of  the  new  "  purchase,"  when  no  less  than  3,000  people 
congregated  here  to  "  outfit."  Then  there  were  many  shops 
and  stores,  and  warehouses  on  the  wharf,  and  all  sorts  of 
rude  places  of  amusement,  and  a  motly  and  unruly  crowd 
such  as  always  gathers  at  a  frontier  town.  Even  old  hulks 
were  improvised  as  boarding-houses.  But  the  prospects 
"  petered  out,"  not  for  lack  of  mineral  so  much  as  lack  of 
suitable  mechanical  appliances,  and  so  both  the  mines  and 
the  town  are  now  almost  dead.  There  is  a  picturesque 
block-house  on  a  convenient  hill,  and  a  grassy  plaza  with 
barracks  where  troops  were  quartered  then,  and  a  couple  of 
small  churches,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  on  the  crest  of  a 
ridge,  with  plank  walks  leading  to  them,  but  the  barracks 
are  now  occupied  by  the  Indian  Mission  of  Mr.  Young,  and 
the  bethels  and  brothels  are  boarded  up.  Every  thing  is  dilap- 
idated and  worn  of  paint,  aud  spacious  hostelries  where  board 
was  once  $3.00  per  day,  have  already  tumbled  into  ruins,  with 
the  walls  collapsed  and  the  roofs  fallen  in.  There  are  about 
500  people  left,  chiefly  Indians,  whose  better  houses,  many 
of  them  painted,  occupy  a  picturesque  curve  of  the  shore 
and  a  point  of  land  which  projects  into  the  harbor.     A  foot 


2S  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

bridge  also  leads  across  an  estuary  to  what  is  an  island 
when  the  tide  is  full,  and  here  are  some  of  the  best  built 
houses  and  elaborate  totem-poles.  This  part  of  the  town 
has  at  least  the  charm  of  supreme  novelty,  and  I  dare  say 
there  is  nothing  like  it  to  be  seen  in  all  Alaska;  a  hint  of 
which  visitors  should  take  due  note  and  govern  themselves 
accordingly.  I  suppose  that  there  will  be  a  better  civiliza- 
tion ere  many  years  have  passed,  but  this  peculiar  architec- 
ture and  ornamentation  stand  to-day,  not  only  as  striking 
illustrations  of  the  idiosyncracies  of  a  peculiar  people,  but 
of  their  native  capabilities,  made  more  creditable  and  more 
conspicuous  from  lack  of  superior  tools  with  which  to  cut, 
hew,  carve  and  smooth.  When  it  is  borne  in  mind  that 
their  boards  are  split  from  hemlocks,  riven  with  an  ax,  and 
planed  with  adzes,  and  that  shaping  and  finishing  is  done 
with  rude  knives,  it  is  apparent  that  the  impartial  judge 
will  allow  them  many  points  for  ingenuity  and  skill. 
[Since  these  notes  were  taken  Wrangell  has  been  re- 
vised.] 

Wrangell  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  Stickeen.  One  of 
these  days  not  distant,  a  steamboat  excursion  up  the 
Stickeen  River  through  the  great  canon  which  it  has  cut 
for  its  passage  through  the  mountains,  will  be  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  exciting  of  all  the  experiences  on 
this  continent.  There  is  steamboat  navigation  for  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  its  mouth  to  Glenora, 
up  to  which  point  the  river  is  usually  clear  of  ice 
by  the  middle  of  April.  There  the  Dominion  custom- 
house is  located  on  the  supposed  boundary  line,  and 
the  scenery  is  of  the  most  romantic  character  all  the 
way,  the  wonderful  creations  of  nature  being  diversified  by 
trading  posts,  stores,  and  mining  stations  along  the  banks. 
Several  fine  glaciers  are  to  be  seen  en  route,  and  a  number 
of  tributary  streams  or  branches  flow  into  the  main  river. 
From  the  head  of  navigation  there  are  canoe  routes  and 
overland  trails  for  pack  trains  which  lead  to  the  gold  mines 
at  Deese  Lake,  eighty  miles  further,  and  to  the  noted  quartz 
lodes  and  placers  of  Cariboo  and  Cassiar  in  British  Colum- 
bia. The  strip  of  territory  owned  by  the  United  States  and 
lying  along  the  coast  is  only  ten  leagues  wide  by  the  Rus- 
sian Treaty  of  1828  with  Great  Britain  ;  and  the  continual 
difficulties  which  arise  between  customs  officials  along  an 
indeterminate  boundary  line,  makes  its  speedy  official  estab- 
lishment in  every  respect  very  desirable. 

The  distance  between  Victoria  and  Wrangell  is  a  little 
less  than  eight  hundred  miles,  the  whole  route  so  land- 
locked that  not  a  qualm  of  sea-sickness  is  permitted  to  come 


ITINERARY.  31 

aboard,  and  all  the  emissaries  of  Neptune  lie  low  among 
the  grottoes  of  the  deep.  The  further  northward  one  goes 
the  grander  the  scenery  becomes,  the  higher  and  more 
rugged  grow  the  mountains,  the  whiter  their  caps  of  snow, 
the  denser  the  surrounding  forests,  and  the  more  numerous 
the  streams  which  leap  from  the  lips  of  the  crags.  There 
are  fjords  deeper  and  blacker  than  the  Saguenay,  open  chan- 
nels greener  than  Niagara.  Peaks  are  piled  on  peaks  in 
most  tumultuous  forms.  Outlines  serrated  and  sharp  cut 
the  upper  sky.  Black  ravines  and  dazzling  patches  of 
snow  alternate.  Scars  seam  the  entire  sides  of  lofty  moun- 
tains, where  the  spring  avalanches  have  scathed  them  of 
every  vestige  of  soil  and  vegetation.  The  inlets  are  often 
enveloped  in  fogs,  but  when  they  lift,  the  surprises  are 
bewildering.  Sometimes  it  is  the  bases  of  the  mountains 
which  are  revealed,  and  sometimes  the  peaks,  with  a  filmy 
drapery  floating  athwart  their  sides,  or  a  golden  fleece  hung 
gracefully  over  their  broad  shoulders.  At  Kasaan  there  is 
a  wharf  and  cannery  with  an  annex  of  Indian  cabins  like  an 
old  time  negro  quarter.  There  is  a  fleet  of  splendid  canoes 
employed  in  the  fishery,  drawn  high  and  dry  upon  the  beach 
ready  for  use,  but  now  tenderly  covered  with  sails  and  mats 
to  protect  them  from  the  alternate  damp  and  sunshine. 
The  hulk  of  an  old  sloop  long  since  past  usefulness,  lies  on 
the  shore  cracked,  seamed,  dismantled  and  keeled  over. 
She  has  a  history,  for  once  she  smuggled  goods  for  the  old 
Russian  magnate,  Carl  V.  Baronovick,  and  carried  many  a 
goodly  cargo  through  the  intricate  water-ways  which  it  did 
not  pay  to  watch.  Out  in  the  stream  the  U.  S.  sur- 
veying steamer  lies  at  anchor,  with  every  thing  taut  and 
trim  and  her  brass  aglow  with  polish,  like  the  "  knocker  of 
a  big  front  door."  She  has  done  lots  of  work  on  the  coast, 
and  marked  out  the  intricate  and  dangerous  channels  with 
tripods  and  can-buoys.  Some  twelve  miles  off  is  a  Hydah 
village — one  of  the  few  to  be  found  in  Alaska — which 
excursionists  sometimes  visit  for  the  collection  of  curios. 
Its  head  chief,  "  Scowl,"  who  was  quite  a  celebrity  in  his 
day,  died  two  years  ago,  leaving  a  good  house  and  an  hon- 
orable pedigree,  vouched  for  by  no  less  than  four  totem- 
poles  set  up  inside,  and  a  tall  one  in  front,  outside,  made  of 
yellow  cedar,  which  grows  abundantly  in  the  vicinity,  and 
is  exceedingly  beautiful,  taking  a  finish  like  satin  wood, 
with  an  odor  as  distinctive  as  that  of  sandal-wood.  At 
Salmon  Bay  the  steamer  stopped  at  another  cannery  to 
receive  some  three  hundred  barrels  of  salted  salmon,  and 
again  at  Naha  Bay,  near  which  there  is  a  beautiful  lake 


32  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

connecting  with  the  ocean  by  a  tidal  passage,  into  which 
the  salmon  were  crowding  to  spawn.  There  is  a  double  fall 
at  the  outlet  of  this  lake  ;  the  fresh  water  pouring  out  when 
the  tide  is  low,  and  the  salt  water  flowing  in  when  the  tide 
is  high.  Here  the  salmon  were  wedged  so  tightly  for  the 
whole  length  of  two  miles  that  they  could  not  move  at 
times.  The  rise  of  the  tide  is  some  eighteen  feet  and  the 
entire  channel,  from  the  surface  to  the  bottom,  was  jammed 
and  packed  solid,  so  that  if  a  plank  were  laid  upon  the  liv- 
ing mass,  a  person  might  have  walked  dry  shod  across  it. 
This  is  hard  to  believe,  but  easy  to  understand  when  it  is 
known  that  during  the  salmon  "  run,"  from  early  spring  to 
August,  the  vast  schools  which  swarm  along  the  shores  and 
fill  the  bays  and  inlets,  swim  in  compacted  masses  six  feet 
thick,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  thrust  a  spear  or  lift  a  boat- 
hook  without  impaling  a  fish.  In  rivers  of  Oregon  the 
salmon  often  obstruct  a  ford  so  that  horses  can  not  pass, 
but  in  Alaska  the  astounding  aggregate  is  infinitely  greater, 
and  large  rivers  being  few,  they  crowd  into  available  inlets 
as  frightened  sheep  were  never  known  to  block  a  gangway. 
Juneau,  or  Harrisburg,  is  the  metropolis  of  Alaska — a 
town  of  several  streets  and  shops,  stores  and  restaurants,  with 
a  trading-post,  a  dance-house,  a  brewery,  a  barber-shop,  and 
a  dramatic  company.  It  is  the  depot  for  the  rich  placer 
mines  behind  the  mountains  back  of  it,  and  the  live  center 
from  which  radiates  whatever  of  excitement  there  is  in  the 
territory,  outside  of  "  government  circles  "  at  Sitka.  Gold 
ore  was  first  discovered  on  Douglas  Island,  opposite,  where 
there  is  to-day  in  operation  the  largest  stamp  mill  in  the 
world  ;  but  it  has  since  been  found  to  exist  in  paying  quan- 
tities on  the  main-land  in  the  mountains  back  of  Juneau. 
An  Indian  revealed  the  secret,  for  a  consideration,  to  two 
prospectors  named  Harris  and  Juneau,  who  at  once  staked 
out  claims  and  began  to  pan  out  pay  dirt  and  nug- 
gets of  free  gold  handsomely.  The  town  is  named  for  each 
of  them  respectively,  though  the  post-office  is  now  called 
Harrisburg.  It  is  growing  rapidly  and  is  orderly.  The 
miners  themselves  are  temperate,  industrious,  and  well- 
behaved,  and  are  gradually  gathering  around  them  a  com- 
munity of  good  citizens.  One  of  the  best  of  the  miners, 
Michael  Powers,  with  two  others,  was  unfortunately  killed 
last  winter  by  an  accidental  cave  in  the  "  basin  "  where  the 
placers  are  being  worked.  The  population  of  Juneau  in 
winter,  when  the  mines  are  idle,  is  fully  1,500.  The  laborers 
employed  are  chiefly  Indians,  with  a  few  Chinese.  There 
are  two  villages  of  Indian  huts  built  along  the  shore,  one 


ITINERARY.  33 

on  either  side  of  the  town.  They  belong  to  different  tribes 
who  are  traditional  enemies — the  Auks  and  the  Talcus — but 
they  live  amicably  enough  with  the  white  settlement  sand- 
wiched in  between  them.  Fleets  of  canoes  ornament  the 
sloping  shores  in  front  of  the  cabins,  and  wolfish  dogs, 
brindled  and  yellow,  with  bushy  tails  and  pricked  ears, 
doze  and  loll  in  front  of  every  door.  As  a  general  rule  their 
bark  is  not  dangerous.  Beyond  these  dusky  suburbs  there 
are  burying  grounds,  with  strips  of  white  and  colored  mus- 
lin tied  to  the  tips  of  poles  to  indicate  the  graves,  which 
would  otherwise  be  lost  in  the  teeming  undergrowth  that 
overruns  them  in  a  single  season.  It  is  a  motley  throng 
which  crowds  the  wharf  on  "  steamer  day,"  but  not  alto- 
gether so  savage  as  might  be  imagined.  It  is  purely  cos- 
mopolitan, and  one  may  land  and  move  about  the  throng  or 
through  the  streets  of  the  town  and  not  be  stared  at  as  he 
would  be  in  any  equal  village  of  New  England.  It  may  be 
accepted  for  granted  that  there  is  not  a  white  man  in  all  the  lot 
as  "  fresh  "  and  "  tender  "  as  the  tourist  who  supremely  con- 
templates him  with  his  eye-glasses,  quite  aloof.  All  of  them 
have  "  traveled."  Some  of  the  stores  are  branches  run  by 
leading  merchants  of  Oregon  and  San  Francisco,  and  I 
doubt  not  one  could  find  the  latest  cut  of  trowsers  at  the 
tailor's  shop.  Baths  there  are,  hot  and  cold,  and  shaving- 
parlors  with  veritable  black  men  behind  the  chairs,  quite 
comfortable  and  luxurious  to  observe  and  enjoy.  There 
were  no  less  than  five  negroes  in  Juneau  last  year.  Verily, 
the  African  is  as  widely  scattered  as  the  Israelite  !  Here 
the  tide  falls  twenty-five  feet,  and  when  it  is  dead  low  water 
all  the  piles  of  the  wharf  stand  out  in  stark  alignment, 
crusted  with  barnacles  hung  with  sea-weed  and  bored  by 
teredos.  So  destructive  is  this  well-known  sea-worm  that 
piles  have  to  be  renewed  every  two  years  at  a  great  deal  of 
labor  and  inconvenience,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  them 
actually  eaten  in  two  below  the  water-line.  A  ferry  boat  runs 
half  hourly  from  Juneau  to  Douglas  Island,  where  there  is 
a  saw-mill  and  a  considerable  settlement  connected  with  the 
stamp-mill  and  ore-beds.  In  the  center  of  the  harbor  is  a 
pretty  island,  with  a  point  stretching  out  from  the  main- 
land half  the  distance  to  meet  it,  on  which  there  is  an  arti- 
ficial marble  monument.  Back  of  the  point  is  a  ravine  with 
a  goodly  stream  tumbling  out  of  it  in  a  series  of  cascades, 
discolored  with  the  tailings  of  the  sluices  back  in  the  moun- 
tains which  have  contributed  to  swell  its  volume.  Up  the 
timbered  slope  which  skirts  it  a  precarious  foot-path  leads 
to  the  "  basin,"  along  the  edges  of  steep  precipices  and 


34  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

through  thickets  of  "  devil's  club  "  and  luscious  salmon- 
berry  bushes. 

From  Juneau  to  Chilkat  and  Pyramid  Harbor,  so  called 
from  a  wedge-shaped  island  in  the  center  of  the  channel,  it 
is  a  twelve  hours'  run.  Here  are  the  two  largest  salmon 
canneries  in  the  territory,  together  employing  over  one 
hundred  hands.  From  this  place  a  novel  excursion  may  be 
made  in  canoes  or  boats  to  the  Chilkat  village,  where  the 
famous  blankets  are  made.  This  tribe  numbers  a  thousand 
souls  at  least.  The  women  are  expert  manufacturers  of 
baskets  and  mats,  as  well  as  blankets.  The  first  are  made 
from  grass  and  the  dried  fiber  of  sea-kelps;  the  blankets 
from  the  wool  of  the  mountain  sheep  and  goats,  woven  by 
hand  and  dyed  with  native  dyes  in  strangely  wrought 
designs  of  blue,  black  and  yellow.  These  are  chiefly  used 
in  dances  and  on  fete  days.  From  Chilkat  to  Kilisnoo  is 
the  next  stage.  Here  there  is  a  cannery  and  phosphate 
works — phosphate  made  from  the  scraps  of  herring  after  the 
oil  is  extracted. 

With  a  run  through  Lynn  Channel  to  Glacier  Bay,  where 
a  day  is  passed  in  viewing  the  greatest  wonder  of  the  coast, 
and  thence  through  Cross  Sound,  we  finally  reach  Sitka, 
which  is  usually  the  terminal  objective  point  of  the  long 
voyage,  but  is  really  a  considerable  distance  on  the  home 
stretch,  accomplished  by  a  long  detour  to  the  northward,  for 
Sitka  lies  in  latitude  fifty-seven  degrees,  while  Chilkat  is  in 
latitude  fifty-nine  degrees,  thirty  minutes.  In  the  gray  of 
the  early  morn  we  can  faintly  discern  the  spectral  summit  of 
Mount  Edgecumb  right  before  us,  and  trace  the  dusky  out- 
lines of  the  rambling  town,  the  outlying  islands,  and  the 
hull  of  the  Pinta,  U.  S.  man-of-war  lying  restfully 
at  anchor  a  few  cables  length  from  the  government  pier. 

Thus  hastily  touching  at  points  of  interest,  I  have 
attempted  to  give  the  tourist  a  general  idea  of  what  he  is  to 
see.  In  a  general  way  also,  he  will  like  to  know  what  to 
take  for  the  voyage.  Presumably  he  will  not  require  an 
evening  dress,  even  should  a  ball  be  given  at  the  "  Castle 
of  the  Governor."  Indispensible,  however,  are  great-coats 
and  gossamers,  heavy  shoes,  warm  underclothing,  and  short 
skirts  for  ladies,  as  well  as  light  wraps  and  thin  garments  of 
all  sorts,  traveling  caps,  and  stout  canes  for  glacier-climb- 
ing. Those  who  are  fond  of  fishing  and  hunting  may  carry 
shot-guns  and  tackle  for  both  salt  and  fresh  water  use.  A 
blue-fish  outfit,  with  heavy  sinker,  and  a  black-bass  rod, 
with  reel  and  line,  will  be  sufficient.  Steamer  chairs  maybe 
bought  at  any  port  before  leaving  Victoria,  and  a  half- 


ITINERARY. 


35 


dozen  books  will  afford  exceptionable  pastime.  Finally,  if 
the  officers  of  the  line  would  only  provide  a  steam  launch, 
forty  feet  long,  with  a  compound  engine,  to  burn  both  wood 
and  coal,  and  half  a  dozen  skiffs  for  trolling,  the  service 
would  be  quite  complete,  and  the  passengers  correspond- 
ingly happy. 


KLOOTCHMAN  S. 


AS   EXCURSIONISTS    SEE   IT. 


There  is  undoubtedly  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  enthused 
and  susceptible  visitors  to  turn  the  bright  side  of  Alaska 
always  toward  the  light,  for  surely  there  was  never  scenery 
more  grand,  or  climate  more  delectable.  From  the  first  of 
June  to  the  end  of  September,  throughout  the  whole 
excursion  season,  the  temperature  is  equable.  One  needs 
not  perspire  without  exercise.  He  is  always  cool  and  needs 
never  be  cold.  Morning  fogs  burn  off  by  ten  o'clock  ;  rain 
seldom  falls  ;  there  is  scarcely  wind  enough  to  fill  a  sail ;  and 
the  headway  of  the  steamer  makes  a  grateful  breeze.  On 
shore  there  are  few  insects  or  flies,  no  reptiles,  and  scarcely 
a  butterfly  or  beetle.  The  whole  excursion  of  fully  2,000 
miles  is  one  long  blithesome  holiday  without  a  blemish.  The 
thermometer  ranges  imperturbably  and  conscientiously 
between  sixty  degrees  and  seventy  degrees. 

Looking  back  over  my  past  sojourn  on  the  North  Pacific, 
and  my  saunterings  along  its  extended  coast,  I  am  at  first 
bewildered  by  the  retrospect.  Remote  from  other  men,  and 
from  evidences  of  the  very  existence  of  men,  except  when 
intermittent  glimpses  are  vouchsafed,  I  seem  to  have  been 
adrift  in  a  new  creation,  such  as  is  sometimes  outlined  in 
our  dreamland.  I  am  lost  in  the  height  of  the  mountains, 
the  depth  of  the  sea,  and  the  immensity  of  space.  Every 
thing  is  on  so  enlarged  a  scale  that  there  is  no  familiar 
standard  of  comparative  measurement.  When  I  stand  in 
the  heart  of  the  Rockies  I  am  impressed  by  the  environ- 
ment of  mountain  chains  and  snow-clad  peaks.  I  am 
appalled  by  the  rugged  grandeur  of  their  height,  and  the 
interminable  depth  of  their  canons  and  chasms.  The 
senses  are  crushed  and  oppressed  by  their  overwhelming 
weight.  But  in  this  archipelago  of  mountains  and  land- 
locked seas,  objects  individually  so  magnificent  in  them- 
selves as  to  startle  the  senses  are  multiplied  and  reduplicated 
until  they  paralyze  one's  comprehension  !  Looking  forward 
from  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  through  a  long  vista  of  head- 
lands, whose  clear-cut  outlines  are  set  against  the  sky  in 
graduated  shades  of  blue,  I  see  a  chevaux  de  /rise  of  snow- 


AS  EXCURSIONISTS  SEE  IT.  37 

capped  peaks  so  high  that  Mount  Washington  or  White 
Top  would  seem  like  hills  beside  them.  Astern,  or  on 
either  side  abeam,  the  same  stupendous  view  looms  up  in 
wondrous  counterpart.  Between  the  wave-washed  foot-hills 
in  the  foreground  close  at  hand,  the  sea  is  placid  like  a 
mirror,  and  all  the  gigantic  firs  which  clothe  the  mountain 
side,  the  scores  which  the  avalanche  has  made  on  the  rocks, 
and  the  waterfalls  which  fall  from  perpendicular  heights, 
higher  than  Yosemite,  are  pictured  there  in  sublime  reflec- 
tions. At  night  the  glory  of  the  stars  and  constellations  is 
repeated  from  infinite  heights  to  infinite  depths,  and  the 
round,  full  moon  seems  regent  of  the  whole  universe.  In 
land-locked  basins,  so  small  that  the  ship  could  scarcely 
turn,  great  whales  disport,  and  all  the  battles  of  the  brine 
are  fought,  like  combats  in  a  prize  ring.  It  is  funny  to  see 
whales  playing  in  what  seems  to  be  a  mountain  lake,  and,  of 
course,  all  the  sea  lions  rear  up  on  the  adjacent  rocks  and 
smile.  Occasionally  there  are  nights  when  the  crests  of  all 
the  waves  are  luminous,  and  the  lustrous  phosphoresence 
piles  up  under  the  prow  in  lumps  of  liquid  light,  and  streams 
off  in  the  receding  wake  of  the  vessel.  Looking  over  the 
bow,  a  watchful  eye  will  detect  large  fish  darting  aside  to 
avoid  the  advance  of  the  vessel,  flashing  up  scintillations 
and  curves  of  fire  as  they  double  and  turn.  The  passengers 
watch  these  submarine  pyrotechnics  by  the  hour. 

Points  and  curves,  headlands,  fiords  and  bays,  sea-worn 
rocks  and  wooded  islets,  rocks  and  reefs  awash  at  low  water, 
narrow  channels  and  precipitous  heights,  towering  peaks 
and  shadowy  valleys,  luxuriant  forests  and  kelp-covered 
shores,  waterfalls  projected  from  dizzy  heights,  glaciers 
pressing  toward  the  sea,  and  splitting  off  with  thunder 
tones  and  roaring  splash — these  characterize  the  scenery 
and  the  landscape  throughout  the  entire  voyage.  Occasion- 
ally an  Indian  village  of  huts  or  tents  is  seen  on  shore,  or  a 
canoe  load  of  natives  sweeps  by  under  pressure  of  blanket- 
sail  and  paddle.  Of  course,  throughout  this  extended 
coast-line,  there  are  many  islands  of  many  different 
phases — some  of  them  mere  rocks,  to  which  the  kelps 
cling  for  dear  life,  like  stranded  sailors  in  a  storm  ; 
while  others  are  gently  rounded  mounds,  wooded  with 
fir  ;  and  others  still,  precipitous  cliffs  standing  breast 
deep  in  the  waves.  Steaming  through  the  labyrinths 
of  straits  and  channels  which  seem  to  have  no  outlets  ; 
straining  the  neck  to  scan  the  tops  of  snow-capped  peaks 
which  rise  abruptly  from  the  basin  where  you  ride  at  anchor  ; 
watching  the  gambols  of  great  whales,  thresher-sharks  and 


38  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

herds  of  sea-lions,  which  seem  as  if  penned  up  in  an 
aquarium,  so  completely  are  they  inclosed  by  the  shadowy 
hills — one  watches  the  strange  forms  around  him  with  an  in- 
tensity of  interest  which  almost  amounts  to  awe. 

In  this  weird  region  of  bottomless  depths,  there  are  no 
sand  beaches  or  gravelly  shores.  All  the  margins  of  main- 
land and  islands  drop  down  plump  into  inky  fathoms  of 
water,  and  the  fall  of  the  tide  only  exposes  the  rank  yellow 
weeds  which  cling  to  the  damp  crags  and  slippery  rocks, 
and  the  mussels  and  barnacles  which  crackle  and  hiss  when 
the  lapping  waves  recede.  When  the  tide  sets  in,  great 
rafts  of  alga?,  with  stems  300  feet  long,  career  along  the  sur- 
face ;  millions  of  jelly  fish  and  anemones  crowded  as  closely 
as  the  stars  in  the  firmament  ;  great  air  bulbs,  with  streamers 
floating  like  the  long  hair  of  female  corpses  ;  schools  of  por- 
poises and  fin-back  whales  rolling  and  plunging  headlong 
through  the  boiling  foam  ;  all  sorts  of  marine  and  mediter- 
ranean fauna  pour  in  a  ceaseless  surge,  like  an  irresistible 
army.  Hosts  of  gulls  scream  overhead,  or  whiten  the 
ledges,  where  they  squat  content  or  run  about  feeding  ; 
ducks  and  sandpeeps,  eagles,  ospreys,  fish-crows  and  king- 
fishers, the  leaping  salmon  and  the  spouting  whales,  fill  up 
the  foreground  with  animated  life.  Here  and  there  along 
the  almost  perpendicular  cliffs  the  outflow  of  the  melting 
snow  in  the  pockets  of  the  mountains  leaps  down  in  dizzy 
waterfalls.  From  the  canons  which  divide  the  foot-hills, 
cascades  pour  out  into  the  brine,  and  all  their  channels  are 
choked  with  salmon  crowding  toward  the  upper  waters.  I 
could  catch  them  with  my  hands  as  long  as  my  strength  en- 
dured, so  helpless  and  infatuated  are  these  creatures  of  pre- 
destination. At  the  heads  of  many  of  these  rivulets  there 
are  lakes  in  which  dwell  salmon  trout,  spotted  with  crimson 
spots  as  large  as  a  pea;  and  young  salmon-parr  and  smolt,  barr- 
ed, crimson  spotted  and  iridescent  and  the  'cut-throat  trout,' 
slashed  with  carmine  under  the  gills.  And  there  is  another 
trout,  most  familiar  to  the  eye  in  eastern  waters,  and  doubly 
welcome  to  the  sight  in  this  far-off  region — the  Salvelinus 
Canadensis  or  '  sea  trout,'  which  I  have  recognized  these 
many  years  as  a  separate  species.  Here  he  is  in  his  gar- 
niture of  crimson,  blue  and  gold,  just  like  his  up  stream 
neighbors  of  New  England  and  the  Provinces,  only  here  he 
is  no  "  brook  trout  run  to  sea,"  for  all  the  denizens  of  Alaska 
brooks  are  the  Salmo  My  kiss,  and  not  at  all  like  him!  and 
no  naturalist  claims  that  these  last  two  are  identical. 

Sometimes  we  cross  the  mouth  of  a  sound  open  to  the 
sea,  where  the  full  force  of  the  Pacific  waves  rolls  in  to  swell 


AS  EXCURSIONISTS  SEE  IT.  39 

the  symphony  of  the  inshore  surf.  There  is  a  stretch  of 
thirty  miles  across  Queen  Charlotte's  sound,  and  of  fifteen 
miles  at  Millbank,  where  even  in  ordinary  weather  passen- 
gers show  the  effects  of  the  motion  ;  but  these  disagree- 
ments are  brief.  Some  of  the  cloud  effects  are  very  grand, 
stretching,  as  they  do,  for  scores  of  miles  half-way  up  the 
mountain  sides,  overhanging  the  peaks  or  piled  on  top. 
Sometimes  a  blue  pyramid  or  cone  will  be  seen  projected 
above  a  mass  of  clouds  which  has  obscured  the  whole  land- 
scape, just  as  the  glory  appeared  to  Jacob  when  he  slept. 
Fogs  are  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  In  the  chilly  mornings 
the  hills  are  wrapped  in  a  thick  mantle,  and  all  the  little  foot- 
hills are  cuddled  like  bantlings  in  the  fleecy  vapors  ;  but 
when  the  warm  sun  mounts,  the  fogs  disappear  and  the  day 
comes  out  almost  cloudless. 

After  all  one  can  not  epitomize  Alaska  in  a  brief  synopsis 
or  resume.  There  it  stands  before  you  in  its  inimitable 
wilderness  of  forest-clad  mountains,  eternal  and  snow- 
capped, outlined  by  the  clouds  and  circumscribed  by  the 
sea  :  and  one  scarcely  knows  more  of  what  lies  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  one  than  under  the  billows  of  the  other.  The 
marvelous  and  the  amazing  are  combined  with  startling  effect 
wherever  we  go.  Many  of  the  wonders  of  the  Yellowstone 
country  are  reduplicated  here.  We  have  in  Alaska  hot 
springs,  lava  beds  and  volcanoes  as  well;  a  volcano  on 
Chernabura  island,  Cook's  inlet,  is  said  to  be  in  active  and 
sulphurous  operation  ;  and  these  together  with  the  unique 
interest  of  Russian  and  Indian  life  added,  and  the  appar- 
ently incongruous  juxtaposition  of  arctic  and  tropical  fea- 
tures, which  are  continually  presented,  render  the  experi- 
ences of  the  tourist  so  delightful,  and  so  novel  withal,  that 
it  needs  no  artificial  adjuncts  to  give  them  expression,  and 
no  new  lights  and  shades  in  the  coloring  to  make  them  at- 
tractive. The  answering  mirror  held  up  to  nature  reflects 
on  every  side  a  goodly  picture.  One  does  not  gaze  into 
it  darkly. 

[I  went  out  with  the  first  passenger  load  and  territorial 
officers.  No  one  then  seemed  to  have  any  idea  of  the  bo- 
nanza which  was  aligned  along  the  coast  which  they 
skirted  en  voyage.  They  dabbed  and  dabbled  like  ducks 
along  the  golden  shore,  plucking  the  lotos  plants  and 
toying  with  trifles.    C.  H.] 


ECONOMICALLY  CONSIDERED. 


But  what  of  Alaska  that  is  practical  ?  Is  it  frigid  ? 
sterile  ?  God-forsaken  ?  a  land  of  perpetual  ice  ?  Will  any 
thing  grow  there  ?  Can  any  considerable  population,  apart 
from  the  coast,  subsist  on  the  country  ?  Are  the  natives 
any  less  savage  than  the  seals  and  bears  they  hunt  ?  Are 
the  traces  of  Russian  occupation  Siberian  or  barbarian  ? 
Did  the  Muscovites  leave  any  thing  at  all  which  Uncle 
Samuel  wants  ?  Is  there  any  gold  or  other  mineral  there  ? 
Any  thing  which  the  Creator  does  not  regret  having  made  ? 
In  a  word,  is  our  new  possession  good  for  anything  at  all, 
except  for  another  "  National  Park  ?  "  a  resort  for  tourists 
and  mid-summer  ramblers?  Let  the  contents  of  this  vol- 
ume answer.  Much  of  it  was  gathered  more  than  twenty 
years  ago.    There  is  nothing  now  to  abrogate  or  change. 

Years  ago,  when  we  gathered  in  the  Louisiana  purchase 
for  the  sum  of  $15,000,000 — a  tract  in  itself  nearly  as  large 
as  Europe — there  were  immense  areas  of  it  which  were 
deemed  absolutely  worthless  ;  and  these  were  set  off,  in  the 
transaction,  against  the  more  fertile  tracts,  with  their  diver- 
sity of  climate,  soil  and  vegetation.  Especially,  that  very 
considerable  portion  of  it  which  is  now  known  as  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Dakota — although  a  population  of  more  than  half 
a  million  have  made  it  the  peer  of  any  state  in  every  thing 
but  privilege — was  disregarded  ;  it  "didn't  count."  On  the 
maps  it  was  marked  "  American  Desert."  At  the  best,  in 
the  opinion  of  merely  superficial  observers,  it  was  only  an 
illimitable  buffalo  range,  rainless  and  treeless,  whose  russet- 
colored  grass  dried  up  in  June  for  lack  of  moisture,  and 
was  worthless.  Now  it  is  the  most  valuable  and  productive 
portion  of  the  entire  Louisiana  purchase ;  capable  of 
feeding  the  world  with  grain  ;  subsisting  domestic  herds  as 
countless  as  the  buffalo  which  once  grazed  over  its  broad 
expanse  ;  munificent  in  its  out-put  of  precious  metals  ; 
underlaid  with  coal  measures  which  form  the  subsidiary 
reserves  of  the  region  lying  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  ; 
seamed  and  interspersed  with  out-croppings  of  the  finest 
building  stone  yet  discovered  ;  flowing  with  milk  and  th« 


ECONOMICAL!.  Y  CONSIDERED.  41 

richness  of  its  dairy  products.  Even  the  "  Bad  Lands  " 
which  were  designated  pre-eminently  so,  in  contradistinction 
from  others  esteemed  not  quite  so  bad,  have  become  the 
chosen  grazing  ground  of  herds  which  supply  the  East  with 
beef,  and  of  horses  which  bid  fair  to  rival  the  swiftest  and 
sturdiest  stock  of  Kentucky  and  Vermont.  So  far  from 
being  sterile,  the  soil  of  the  "  Bad  Lands  "  has  been  proved 
actually  better  for  general  farming  than  the  heavy  tenacious 
loam  of  the  Red  River  Valley,  just  because  it  is  lighter. 

Not  less  erroneously  regarded  was  the  illimitable  territory 
of  the  British  Northwest,  whose  agricultural  possibilities  are 
now  ascertained  to  be  co-extensive  with  her  boundaries. 
This  impression  of  incapacity  was  founded  on  its  hyper- 
borean situation.  But  practical  men  who  had  to  deal  with 
practical  measures,  upon  which  the  very  life  and  perpetuity 
of  the  Canadian  Dominion  depended,  went  forward  in 
advance  of  the  projected  railroad  through  the  country,  and 
ploughed  and  planted  at  intervals  of  every  twenty  miles,  to 
test  the  quality  of  soil  and  climate  ;  and  when  without 
tillage  or  protection,  the  answering  grain  came  up  in 
bounteous  profusion  and  ripened  before  the  autumn  frost, 
no  better  assurance  of  the  future  was  desired  ;  and  now  the 
directors  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  confidently  pre- 
dict that  the  new  Northwest  will  have  fifty  millions  of  people 
a  century  hence,  with  capacity  to  feed  themselves  and  the 
rest  of  the  world,  if  need  be.  Indeed,  it  seems  incredible, 
and  altogether  unaccountable,  to  those  who  put  no  value 
on  isothermal  lines,  and  infer  that  the  climates  of  all  high 
latitudes  are  rigorous  and  inhospitable,  to  read  in  the  cur- 
rent newspaper  telegrams  of  the  day  that  spring  wheat- 
sowing  commences  in  April  at  Maple  Creek,  in  Atha- 
basca, fully  six  hundred  miles  west  of  hyperborean  Win- 
nipeg, on  the  same  parallel  of  latitude;  that  the  tempera- 
ture ranged  from  fifty-four  to  fifty-seven  degrees  at  Fort 
McLeod  during  the  corresponding  period ;  that  the  trains 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  usually  run  on  time 
through  the  snowdrifts  of  the  mountain  division. 

Maple  Creek,  lying  at  the  east  base  of  the  rocky  moun- 
tains, feels  the  influence  of  the  Chinook  winds  which  are 
wafted  from  the  warm  bosom  of  the  Kuro  Siwo,  or  Japan 
current,  although  they  have  to  pass  over  four  great  moun- 
tain ranges — the  Cascades,  Gold,  Selkirk  and  Rockies,  each 
of  which  helps  to  cool  and  condense  the  atmosphere — 
whereas  access  to  the  interior  of  Alaska  is  obstructed  only 
by  the  single  barrier  of  the  coast  range. 

I  have  traveled  over  a  great  part  of  the  British  Northwest 
and  British  Columbia,  and  have  read  the  official  reports  of 


42  SITKA   SOMNOLENT. 

their  geological  surveys,  railway  engineers,  Hudson  Bay 
officials  and  Indian  inspectors  ;  I  have  gathered  together 
all  the  facts  I  could  find  in  books,  and  listened  to  the  tales 
of  miners  and  traders,  and  old  settlers  whose  lives  have 
been  passed  in  the  ultima  tkule  ;  and  I  have  supplemented 
the  whole  with  the  observations  photographed  on  the  eye  ; 
and  having  gotten  together  all  this  testimony,  and  dis- 
covered that  the  physical  features  of  this  vast  region  and 
Alaska  are  much  alike  with  each  one's  advantages  and 
objections  reciprocally  counterbalanced  by  the  vagaries  of 
isothermal  lines,  I  am  prepared  to  believe  that  Alaska  is 
worth  all  that  was  paid  for  it,  and  to  predict  that  in  due 
course  of  time  it  will  surpass  the  expectations  of  its  pur- 
chasers more  than  despised  Dakota  or  the  Northwest  has 
done.  The  elements  of  wealth  pervade  it  ;  they  are 
through,  above  and  around  it. 

Misconceptions  of  the  productive  capabilities  of  a  country 
spring  from  imperfect  diagnosis.  No  mere  superficial 
observation  will  suffice  ;  no  hasty  conclusions  predicated 
upon  general  appearances.  Nothing  but  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  soil,  flora  and  fauna  will  furnish 
testimony  of  an  absolute  character  that  can  be  relied  on. 
Dakota  was  condemned  because  her  summer  rain-fall  was 
meager,  and  the  dry  and  arid  appearance  of  every  thing 
contrasted  most  unfavorably  with  the  verdant  green  of 
eastern  localities.  The  Northwest  was  condemned  for  like 
reasons — with  the  inferential  objection  of  high  latitude 
added  ;  but  there  were  hidden  influences  underneath  the 
soil,  begotten  by  the  very  conditions  which  seemed  adverse, 
that  served  to  counteract  them.  The  book  of  nature  was 
left  wide  open,  but  men  neglected  to  turn  its  pages.  A 
high  latitude  is  very  naturally  suggestive  of  cold,  but  in  the 
code  of  climatology  latitude  is  less  arbitrary  than  isothermal 
lines.  Even  in  countries  truly  frigid  there  is  a  season  of 
respite  from  inexorable  congelation.  Most  people  imagine 
Iceland  to  be  ice-clad  and  ice-bound  the  whole  year  round, 
and  yet  its  summer  lawns  are  verdant  with  rich  grass,  and 
the  meadows  are  spangled  with  buttercups  and  daisies  ; 
pigeons  congregate  upon  the  house-roofs,  and  the  cows 
come  home  from  pasture  with  the  same  straggling  gait  as 
the  kine  of  other  lands.  Nine-tenths  of  the  children  at 
school  believe  the  Arctic  zone  to  be  a  realm  of  perpetual 
darkness  and  intolerable  frigidity  without  a  break,  and 
would  hoot  with  incredulity  if  told  that  its  inhabitants 
swelter  in  the  heat  of  her  mid-summer  sun,  and  that  nothing 
but  its  brief  duration  prevents  a  high  development  of  ver« 


ECONOMICALL  Y  CONSIDERED.  43 

dure.  But,  compared  with  Alaska,  the  blessings  and 
fruition  of  other  northern  lands  in  either  hemisphere  are 
insignificant — British  Columbia  alone  excepted. 

Of  course  the  modifying  influence  of  the  Japan  Current, 
or  Pacific  Gulf  Stream,  which  projects  its  vast  volume  of 
tepid  water  athwart  the  Aleutian  Isles,  is  already  well 
understood,  but  the  results  one  sees  there  are  hard  to  real- 
ize, and  the  reports  we  hear  are  listened  to  as  mariners' 
tales.  The  effect  of  this  warm  current  is  equivalent  to 
twenty  degrees  of  latitude,  that  is  to  say,  the  same  products 
which  are  found  in  latitude  forty  degrees  on  the  Atlantic 
thrive  in  latitude  sixty  degrees  on  the  Pacific,  which  is 
but  little  north  of  the  location  of  Sitka,  and  on  a  scale  far 
more  generous.  Fruits,  vegetables,  plants,  and  trees  are 
not  only  of  greater  size,  but  their  yield  is  manifold,  though 
it  is  fair  to  say,  that  the  quality  of  flavor  is  not  always  as 
good.  Oranges,  which  do  not  mature  in  the  East  above 
the  latitude  of  Port  Royal,  S.  C,  grow  to  perfection  in 
Shasta,  California,  in  latitude  forty-one  degrees,  which  is  a 
little  higher  than  the  latitude  of  New  York  City.  Shasta  also 
produces  cotton,  limes,  soft-shell  almonds,  and  superb 
prunes.  By  the  same  ratio  of  climatic  progression,  tomatoes, 
musk-melons  and  grapes  ripen  in  the  latitude  of  Victoria, 
but  better  back  of  the  coast-range  than  on  the  seaboard, 
because  of  the  higher  temperature  and  immunity  from  exces- 
sive fogs  and  rain. 

The  influence  of  ocean  currents  in  distributing  heat 
throughout  the  globe,  and  especially  of  the  warm  currents 
which  modify  the  climate  of  the  polar  regions,  is  set  forth 
very  intelligibly  in  Croll's  "  Climate  and  Climatology"  pub- 
lished by  the  Appletons.  By  that  influence,  places  which 
are  now  buried  under  permanent  snow  and  ice  were  once 
covered  with  luxurious  vegetation,  and  arctic  regions 
enjoyed  a  comparatively  mild  and  equable  climate  ;  and 
vice  versa.  Hitherto  this  influence  seems  to  have  been 
enormously  underestimated.  Really,  the  amount  of  heat 
borne  north  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  whose  volume  and  temper- 
ature have  been  ascertained  with  an  approach  to  certainty, 
is  computed  to  be  more  than  equal  to  all  the  heat  received 
from  the  sun  within  a  zone  of  the  earth's  surface  extending 
thirty-two  miles  on  each  side  of  the  equator.  Or,  in  other 
words,  as  a  little  calculation  will  demonstrate,  the  amount 
of  equatorial  heat  carried  into  temperate  and  polar  regions 
by  this  stream  alone  is  equal  to  one-fourth  of  all  the  heat 
received  from  the  sun  by  the  North  Atlantic  from  the 
Tropic  of  Cancer  up  to  the  Arctic  Circlei      But  theri 


44  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

are  other  great  oceanic  currents,  especially  the  Kuro-Siwo, 
which,  though  not  yet  subjected  to  as  careful  mensuration, 
are  believed  to  convey  as  much  heat  poleward  as  the  Gulf 
Stream.  Evidently,  then,  comparatively  slight  changes  in 
the  oceanic  circulation  would  increase  or  decrease  glacial 
conditions.  The  severity  of  climate,  in  Mr.  Croll's  view,  is 
about  as  much  due  to  the  cooling  effect  of  the  permanent 
snow  and  ice  as  to  an  actual  want  of  heat.  An  increase  in 
the  amount  of  warm  water  entering  the  Arctic  Ocean,  just 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  formation  of  permanent  ice,  is  all 
that  is  really  necessary  to  make  the  summers  of  Greenland 
as  warm  as  those  of  England."  It  is  obvious  that  a  large 
decrease  in  its  temperature  and  volume  would  lead  to  a  state 
of  things  in  northwestern  Europe  approaching  to  that  which 
now  prevails  in  Greenland.  The  causes  which  he  assigns 
for  changes  in  the  volume  and  temperature  of  ocean  cur- 
rents, he  declares  are  actual  and  explicable,  and  by  no 
means  based  on  mere  hypotheses  ;  all  of  which  are  set  forth 
in  a  most  intelligible  and  interesting  manner  in  the  volume 
referred  to.  Briefly  epitomized,  they  may  be  stated  in  Mr. 
Crolls  own  words,  as  follows  : 

"  The  causes  of  these  changes  may  be  found  in  physical 
agencies,  stimulated  or  checked  by  changes  in  the  eccen- 
tricity of  the  earth's  orbit,  provided  the  heat-transferring 
power  of  such  agencies  is  suffered  to  be  operative  by  such 
geographical  conditions  as  now  exist,  and  which  there  is 
not  an  atom  of  evidence  for  believing  have  been  materially 
altered  since  the  glacial  epoch.  It  is  unnecessary  to  postu- 
late the  submergencies  or  the  elevation  of  continents,  or  the 
existence  of  extra  inter-continental  channels,  transporting 
northward  additional  heat  currents,  and  thus  contributing  to 
ameliorate  the  climate  of  the  pole.  The  geographical  condi- 
tions and  the  physical  agencies  which  actually  exist  are  amply 
sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  facts.  When  the  eccentricity 
of  the  earth's  orbit  is  at  a  high  value,  and  the  northern  win- 
ter solstice  is  in  perihelion,  agencies  are  brought  into  opera- 
tion which  make  the  southeast  trade-winds  stronger  than 
the  northeast,  and  compel  them  to  blow  over  upon  the 
northern  hemisphere  as  far  probably  as  the  Tropic  of  Can- 
cer. The  result  is  that  all  the  great  equatorial  currents  of 
the  ocean  are  impelled  into  the  northern  hemisphere,  which 
thus,  in  consequence  of  the  immense  accumulation  of  warm 
water,  has  its  temperature  raised,  and  snow  and  ice  to  a 
great  extent  must  then  disappear  from  the  Arctic  regions. 
When,  contrariwise,  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  brings 
round   the   winter   solstice   to   aphelion,  the  condition  of 


ECONOMICALL  Y  CONSIDERED.  45 

things  on  the  two  hemispheres  is  reversed,  and  the  north- 
east trades  then  blow  over  upon  the  southern  hemisphere, 
carrying  the  great  equatorial  currents  along  with  them. 
The  warm  water  being  thus  wholly  withdrawn  from  the 
northern  hemisphere,  its  temperature  sinks  enormously, 
and  snow  and  ice  begin  to  accumulate  in  temperate 
regions."  * 

Mr.  Croll  is  also  at  pains  to  show  that  the  mean  interval 
between  two  consecutive  interglacial  periods  (correspond- 
ing to  the  time  required  by  the  equinoctial  point  to  pass 
from  perihelion  round  to  perihelion)  is  not,  as  is  commonly 
assumed,  21,000,  but  23,230  years.  At  intervals,  therefore, 
of  from  10,000  to  12,000  years  the  north  pole  will  experi- 
ence the  extreme  of  cold  and  the  extreme  of  heat  compat- 
ible with  the  coincident  geographical  conditions,  and  with 
the  coincident  eccentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit,  the  latter 
factor  being  ascertainable  from  Croll's  tables. 

The  final  result,  therefore,  to  which  Mr.  Croll  would  lead 
us  is  that  those  warm  and  cold  periods  which  have  alter- 
nately prevailed  during  past  ages  are  simply  the  great  secu- 
lar summers  and  winters  of  our  globe,  depending  as  truly 
as  the  annual  ones  do  upon  planetary  motions,  and  like 
them  also  fulfilling  some  important  ends  in  the  economy  of 
nature. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  in  a  country  as  vast  as  Alaska 
the  climate  varies  greatly  ;  but  taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  more 
moderate  and  equable  than  that  of  any  region  of  a  corres- 
ponding latitude  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — enjoying 
summers  cooler,  and  winters  much  more  mild.  On  its 
mountains  there  is  perpetual  snow,  but  not  perpetual  cold. 
There  are  large  tracts  of  country  where  the  mean  yearly  tem- 
perature is  higher  than  that  of  Stockholm  or  Christiana  of 
Europe,  and  where  it  is  milder  in  winter,  with  a  less  fall  of 
both  rain  and  snow  than  in  the  southern  portion  of  Sweden. 
Along  the  southern  seaboard,  which  is  the  most  habitable 
portion,  the  average  temperature  is  forty-two  degrees,  with 
a  common  range  between  the  zero  point  and  a  maximum  of 
eighty  degrees.  Winter  breaks  up  in  March.  Even  in 
January,  showers,  such  as  we  of  the  north  have  in  April, 
alternate  with  the  sunshine  of  May. 

John  J.  McLean,  the  U.  S.   Signal  Officer  at  Sitka,  has 
kindly  furnished  me  the  following  synopsis  of  meteorological 
data  for  the  winter  of  1885-6. 
*For  eiiects  of  glacial  dynamics,  see  pages  168-77. 


46 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


Date. 


Nov.  1885. 
Dec.      " 
Jan.    1886. 
Feb.      " 


Mean  Temp. 


40.2 
36.8 
29.2 
37-1 


Precipitation 
inches. 


9-65 
11,70 

7-36 

18.84 


Max.  Temp. 


50. 
50.5 


52.5 


Min.  Temp. 


29- 5 

3o.5 

4- 

24. 


In  the  region  fully  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  equato- 
rial current,  flowers  bloom  and  vegetation  remains  green  and 
bright  the  winter  through,  with  only  a  temporary  suspension 
for  rest  and  recuperation,  and  there  is  little  save  the 
almanac  to  remind  the  stranger  that  winter  is  in  transit, 
though  the  native  knows  it  from  the  increased  rainfall.  The 
warm  air  coming  off  from  the  Gulf  Stream  meets  the  colder  air 
from  the  north  and  evokes  precipitation,  more  abundant  on 
the  main  land  coast  than  on  the  islands,  or  in  the  interior. 
And  it  is  this  steaming  moisture  which  clothes  the  mountains 
to  the  height  of  more  than  a  thousand  feet  with  their  dense 
growths  of  spruce,  pine,  alder,  hemlock,  and  cedar.  But  it  is 
not  always  calm  and  mild  and  delectable  in  that  region  ;  for 
the  Custom  House  officer  who  keeps  his  lonesome  watch  at 
the  tumble-down  post  at  Tongass,  which  is  the  southernmost 
limit  of  our  possession,  tells  how  the  winds  begin  to  blow 
about  the  istof  November  and  sometimes  hard  enough  to 
upset  the  crow's  nest  at  the  look-out,  and  whisk  the  shingles 
off  the  roof.  Frequently  he  is  weather-bound  for  weeks, 
and  once  he  did  not  taste  fresh  meat  for  four  months.  In 
mid-winter  snow  sometimes  falls  as  deep  as  four  feet,  an 
immense  precipitation,  but  it  seldom  remains  unmelted  for 
more  than  a  fortnight,  and  the  temperature  rarely  falls  to 
zero.  In  January,  1886,  it  reached  five  degrees,  the  coldest 
of  the  season  for  many  years.  Capt.  L.  A.  Beardslee,  com- 
manding the  U.  S.  Steamer,  Jamestown,  on  the  Alaska  Sta- 
tion, in  his  official  report  for  1879,  made  at  Sitka,  mentions 
the  appearance  of  robins,  sparrows  and  buntings  in  March, 
with  ducks  flying  north.  He  gives  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  hours  of  blue  sky  out  of  a  total  of  seven  hundred  and 
forty-four  hours  for  the  thirty-one  days  of  the  month.  In 
April  about  one  day  in  seven  is  cloudy.  The  summer  up  to 
September  is  uniformly  dry,  with  an  equable  temperature. 
September  temperature  is  sixty  degrees  in  the  shade,  and 
seventy  degrees  in  the  sun,  with  a  good  deal  of  rain  gener- 
ally. It  is  these  early  rains  which  prevent  the  ripening  of 
grains  on  the  coast.  Cereals  would  do  better  in  the  interior 
despite  the  6hort  summer.     All  kinds  of  vegetables  mature 


ECONOMICALL  Y  CONSIDERED.  47 

on  the  coast,  and  potatoes  grow  large  and  keep  through  the 
winter  as  seed  for  the  next  year's  planting.  As  testimony 
to  the  dryness  of  the  climate,  the  captain  says  :  "  Our  guns 
(vessel  of  war)  do  not  suffer  as  on  our  own  coast."  Hali- 
but and  herring  fishing  occurs  in  April.  Salmon  fishing 
begins  May  i.  Coots,  teal,  widgeon  and  sprigtail  ducks 
arrive  in  September  ;  canvas-backs  and  mallards  in  October; 
geese  fly  in  November. 

A  great  deal  more  has  been  written  about  Alaska  than  the 
public  imagines.  A  whole  library  of  information  is  avail- 
able among  the  shelves  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at 
Washington,  and  all  the  traits  and  industries  and  social  life 
and  religious  belief  of  its  peculiar  peoples  are  illustrated  in 
the  cabinets  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  The  reports 
of  Prof.  Dall  alone,  whose  research  covers  a  period  of 
seventeen  seasons  in  Alaska,  published  under  Government 
auspices,  afford  such  explicit  information  that  no  one  need 
be  ignorant  of  its  capabilities.  But  such  valuable  emana- 
tions as  Government  reports  and  "  pub.  docs."  are  usually 
consigned  to  the  archives,  to  be  presently  forgotten,  or  per- 
haps exhumed  in  exigency  for  special  reference,  while  the 
imperfect  and  baser  effusions  of  irresponsible  contributors 
find  universal  currency.  Mr.  Bancroft,  in  his  exhaustive 
"  History  of  Alaska,"  comprising  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
pages,  has  also  given  us  all  the  information  which  research 
can  unearth,  from  the  earliest  discovery  of  the  country  to 
the  present  day.  The  volume  comprises  a  most  valuable 
and  authentic  repertory  of  facts,  geographical,  historical 
and  economical,  coast-wise  and  in-board,  all  of  which  are 
sufficient  to  demonstrate  and  prove  that  the  difficulty  to  be 
encountered  in  the  agricultural  development  of  Alaska,  is 
not  a  climatic  one.  Samples  of  oats,  rye,  barley,  hay,  po- 
tatoes, onions,  garden  truck,  and  fresh  beef  from  the 
1,280-acre  experiment  farm  in  Copper  River  valley  which 
were  shown  at  the  World's  Fair  in  St.  Louis  in  1903 
prove  what  can  be  done  in  this  line.  Already  the  settlers 
and  miners  in  that  section  are  "living  off  the  country." 
The  Copper  River  valley  basin  is  140  miles  long  by  75 
wide. 

Notwithstanding  the  habitable  and  cultivable  modicum 
is  relatively  but  little,  it  is  of  far  greater  extent  and  im- 
portance than  would  be  supposed  by  those  who  fail  to 
appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  territory  as  a  whole; 
and  it  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  area  of  Alaska 
is  greater  than  that  of  the  original  thirteen  states,  and 
poor  indeed  must  be  that  plat  of  earth,  so  magnificent  in 


48  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

sweep  and  superfices,  which  does  not  contain  the  value 
inherent  of  $7,500,000,  the  equivalent  of  the  "Seward 
Purchase."  What  real  or  tangible  foundation  is  there  for 
the  impression  that  it  cannot  decently  support  more  than 
a  handful  of  population,  when  other  countries,  which  re- 
semble it  in  climate  and  character,  support  large  num- 
bers? The  contributory  causes  of  a  false  impression 
have  already  been  hinted  at  in  chapter  one  of  this  volume, 
and  will  presently  be  made  more  clearly  to  appear. 

In  the  latter  years,  with  the  discovery  of  the  fertility  of 
our  illimitable  prairies  and  their  boundless  capacity  for 
grain,  men's  ideas  of  farm  dimensions  expanded  in  propor- 
tion, until  an  area  of  less  than  10,000  acres  came  to  be 
regarded  as  small.  But  the  era  of  bonanza  farms  has  now 
passed  away ;  the  great  wheat  fields  are  being  subdivided  ; 
mixed  industries  are  being  introduced,  and  with  constantly 
diminishing  areas  it  will  be  possible  presently  to  conceive 
of  a  farm  no  larger  than  those  they  have  in  Scotland  or 
New  England  ;  and  a  country  may  be  considered  agricul- 
tural that  is  not  wholly  an  alluvial  level  destitute  of  trees  and 
stones.  Nay,  it  may  even  come  within  the  grasp  of  thought 
to  imagine  acres  tucked  away  in  the  folds  of  the  Alaska 
mountains  or  spread  out  like  blankets  upon  the  waste  ter- 
races of  the  upper  Yukon.  No  lands  were  ever  more  fruit- 
ful than  the  hill  counties  of  Judea,  where  the  desert 
encroached  very  nearly  upon  the  fertile  tracts,  and  there 
are  few  countries  where  the  climatic  conditions  are  better 
adapted  to  diversified  crops  than  the  mountainous  seaboard 
of  Alaska.  With  regard  to  its  local  or  indigenous  products, 
let  me  recite  the  testimony  of  Captain  Beardslee,  of  the  U. 
S.  Navy,  given  in  1879,  soon  after  his  arrival  on  the  station, 
to  wit  :  "  We  have  been  here  three  months,  and  during  that 
period  have  been  plentifully  supplied  with  a  variety  of  good 
vegetables,  among  which  have  been  radishes,  lettuce,  car- 
rots, onions,  cauliflower,  cabbage,  peas,  turnips  and  pota- 
toes, and  have  a  prospect  during  the  coming  month  of  beets, 
parsnips  and  celery,  all  of  which  look  well  in  the  gardens. 
The  cauliflower  and  cabbage  are  as  good  as  I  ever  ate  ;  the 
potatoes  are  just  coming  on,  and  are  not  quite  ripe  yet.  I 
had  this  day  (Sept.  17th)  at  my  dinner,  a  potato  grown  here 
which  was  seven  inches  long,  three  inches  thick,  and  weighed 
one  pound  five  ounces,  and  it  was  one  of  many  I  have  seen 
which  would  average  from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  a 
pound  in  weight.  Its  flavor  was  good,  and  I  shall,  as  do 
all  other  people  here,  depend  upon  this  market  for  my 
winter's  supply.  There  are  many  small  gardens  which 
return  crops,  as  in  all  other  countries,  in  proportion  to  the 


ECONOMICALL  Y  CONSIDERED,  49 

care  and  skill  displayed  in  their  cultivation.  I  have  seen 
plenty  of  '  the  watery  walnuts  dubbed  potatoes,'  but  they 
came  from  gardens  belonging  to  people  so  excessively  pious 
that  they  trusted  God  for  every  thing,  and  put  in  no  work 
themselves.  Some  of  these  gardens  are  over  a  single  acre 
in  extent,  and  have  supplied  good  crops  annually  for  quite 
a  while.  On  Japonski  and  Biorka,  and  Survey  and  other 
islands  there  are  hundreds  of  acres  which  could  be  culti- 
vated with  profit,  if  the  population  were  great  enough  to  fur- 
nish customers.  On  Biorka,  an  island  about  twelve  miles 
from  here,  there  is  now  under  cultivation  a  thriving  vege- 
table garden  of  several  acres,  and  these  acres  have 
been  under  annual  cultivation  for  some  years.  So  we  eat 
and  grow  fat,  when  we  thought  to  have  had  short  commons." 
The  captain  is  writing  at  Sitka,  two  hundred  and  forty 
miles  up  the  coast  from  the  southernmost  boundary  of  the 
territory,  where  the  climate  may  be  supposed  to  be  less 
favorable  to  perfect  maturity  of  esculents.  There  are  some 
good  vegetable  gardens  at  Wrangell  and  Tongass.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Young,  who  have  charge  of  the  mission  at  Wran- 
gell, have  a  ranch  of  1,600  acres  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Stickeen  River,  on  which  they  have  successfully  raised  bar- 
ley and  oats,  but  that  is  ninety-five  miles  southeast  of  Sitka. 
At  the  village  of  Haines,  further  up  the  Stickeen,  there  is 
another  good  ranch.  Red  raspberries  are  cultivated  at 
Tongass.  In  the  stores  at  Wrangell,  I  have  seen  fine  pota- 
toes on  sale  in  the  month  of  August ;  but  these  were  not 
raised  on  the  coast,  but  up  the  Stickeen  River,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  back  in  the  interior.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  whole  coast  region  is  so  like  a  vapor-bath  or  hot-house, 
that  vegetation  grows  too  exuberantly.  There  is  no  room 
for  it,  and  indigenous  plants  crowd  the  economic  products. 
If  you  fence  a  garden,  or  a  grave-plot,  the  fence  disappears 
from  view  the  second  year  among  the  overgrowth.  The 
same  vegetable  phenomena  pertain  to  the  interior,  but  there 
the  summer  temperature  is  inordinately  higher,  the  skies 
are  cloudless,  and  the  supply  of  moisture  derived  from  the 
reeking  sub-soils  and  underlying  strata  of  ice,  abundantly 
sufficient.  Wild  hops,  wild  onions  and  wild  berries  grow  in 
profusion;  crab-apples,  gooseberries,  currants,  black  and  red 
whortleberries,  raspberries,  cranberries,  strawberries,  red 
and  white  salmon  berries  (like  raspberries,  only  four  times 
the  size),  checker  berries,  pigeon  berries,  and  angelica,  fur- 
nish the  native  fruit  supply.  At  berries  we  have  to  draw 
the  line  between  Alaska  and  Southern  British  Columbia, 
which  can  supply  the  Dominion  with  choicest  apples,  pears, 


50  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

plums,  peaches,  grapes,  cherries,  etc.  One  curious  feature. 
of  Alaska  vegetation  is  that  nearly  every  flower  is  succeeded 
by  a  berry.  In  the  same  latitude  of  Labrador  on  the 
Atlantic  side,  the  only  solitary  fruit  is  a  little  yellow  berry, 
locally  known  as  "  baked  apple,"  which  grows  among  the 
grass  and  lichens  ;  and  spruce  sticks,  no  more  than  eight 
inches  in  diameter,  illustrate  the  best  forest  growth.  Why 
don't  the  Canadian  Government  move  its  three  thousand 
pinched  and  starving  population  from  Labrador  to  Brit- 
ish Columbia  at  the  public  expense?  They  would  earn 
their  transportation  in  a  year. 

As  stock  raising  is  the  remunerative  complement  of  every 
well  constituted  farm,  it  is  being  prosecuted  by  the  Alas- 
kan granger  with  marked  advantage.  Certainly  the  climate 
is  vastly  more  propitious  than  in  Northern  Minnesota  and 
Dakota,  where  the  grazing  of  fine  sheep  and  the  best 
blooded  cattle  is  now  prosecuted  with  signal  profit.  Like 
the  bonanza  wheat  fields  of  the  Northwest,  so  the  illimitable 
cattle  ranges  of  the  further  west  are  being  sub-divided. 
Diversity  of  industry  has  become  a  necessity  and  a  watch- 
word. Gradually  the  wheat  fields  and  the  cattle  ranges 
are  over-lapping  and  dove-tailing  into  each  other.  Very 
rapidly  the  farmer  of  the  West  is  driving  the  desert  before 
him.  The  developments  of  each  succeeding  year  make  it 
more  and  more  obvious  that  the  encroachment  of  the  home- 
steader upon  the  grazing  lands  can  not  be  checked.  The 
Defiver  Tribune  says  : — "  Men  have  stood  in  line  a  hundred 
deep  at  the  Land  Offices  waiting  their  turns  to  enter  land 
upon  which  as  little  rain  falls  as  in  the  most  arid  spot  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  If  this  move  can  be  made  to 
pay  them  it  simply  means  that  all  the  plains  will  be  home- 
steaded  within  a  few  years.  It  means  that  the  large  herds 
will  disappear  and  that  the  lands  will  be  fenced  by  their 
real  owners.  In  short,  it  forebodes  another  change  in  the 
evolution  of  the  arid  cattle-grazing  business  greater  than 
any  that  has  gone  before." 

Finally  when  all  the  land  is  homesteaded,  men  will  look 
to  Alaska.  And  why  not  ?  Says  Bancroft : — "  Grasses 
thrive  almost  everywhere  on  the  low-lands.  Kodiak  is  a 
good  grazing  country,  capable  of  sustaining  large  droves  of 
cattle.  On  the  Aleutian  Islands  trees  do  not  grow,  but  the 
grasses  are  luxuriant."  Lieutenant  Schwatka  in  his  report  of 
the  interior,  speaks  enthusiastically  of  the  upland  meadows 
and  the  grass-grown  bluffs.  Capt.  Beardslee  says  : — "  I  am 
not  sufficiently  posted  in  the  mysteries  of  a  granger's  pro- 
fession to  undertake  to  speak  very  positively  as  to  the  num- 


EC0N0M1CALL  V  CONSIDERED.  5  1 

ber  of  stock  of  any  kind  which  any  given  amount  of  land 
would  support,  but  that  there  is  land  here  which  will  sup- 
port some  stock,  I  will  also  prove  by  facts.  *  *  * 
While  the  army  was  here  Japonski  Island  was  used  as  a 
stock  ranch.  There  has  been  kept  on  it  as  many  as  sixty 
head  of  cattle,  over  one  hundred  of  sheep,  and  over  three 
hundred  of  hogs  ;  all  of  which  obtained  their  own  food  for 
a  much  greater  portion  of  the  year  than  they  could  have 
done  in  any  state  north  of  Alabama  ;  and  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  getting  good  hay.  Twelve  miles  north  of  here 
are  the  Katliansky  and  Nesquasarisky  bays  and  plains, 
which,  having  been  planted  with  timothy  some  years  ago 
by  a  settler  named  Doyle,  furnished  to  the  troops  an  aver- 
age of  sixty  tons  of  good  hay,  cured  during  the  heated  spell 
of  July,  when  the  temperature  goes  up  into  the  nineties  ; 
and  this  year  those  who  cut  a  little  for  their  own  supply  es- 
timate that  t^ere  was  at  least  one  hundred  tons.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Sitka  there  are  three  thousand  acres  of 
arable  land,  much  of  which  is  now  well  grassed  and  covered 
with  white  clover.  And  on  the  summits  of  some  of  the 
foot-hills  there  are  plateaus  now  covered  with  wdd  grasses, 
where  innumerable  deer  obtain  pasturage  and  where  goats 
and  mountain  sheep  would  thrive." 

These  references  are  to  limited  areas  which  have  come 
within  a  circumscribed  scope  of  observation.  They  illus- 
trate the  coast  region,  just  as  arable  places  illustrate  Switz- 
erland ;  and  Switzerland  is  a  good  country,  if  not  strictly 
agricultural.  With  regard  to  the  Yukon  River  country, 
Captain  Wm.  H.  Dall,  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey, 
says,  in  his  report  made  to  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
in  1867: — "Among  the  more  valuable  grasses,  of  which 
some  thirty  species  are  known  to  exist  in  the  Yukon  terri- 
tory, is  the  well-known  Kentucky"  blue  grass,  which  grows 
luxuriantly  as  far  north  as  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  perhaps  to 
Point  Barrow. 

"The  wood  meadow-grass  is  abundant.  The  blue  joint- 
grass  {Calamagrostis  canadensis)  also  reaches  the  latitude 
of  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  grows  on  the  coast  of  Norton 
Sound  with  a  truly  surprising  luxuriance,  reaching  in  very 
favorable  localities  four  or  even  five  feet  in  height,  and 
averaging  at  least  three.  Many  other  grasses  enumerated 
in  the  list  of  useful  plants  grow  abundantly,  and  con- 
tribute largely  to  the  whole  amount  of  herbage.  Two 
species  of  Elymus  almost  deceive  the  traveler  with  the 
aspect  of  grain-fields,  maturing  a  perceptible  kernel  which 
the  field-mice  lay  up  in  store. 


52  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

"  The  grasses  are  woven  into  mats,  dishes,  articles  of 
clothing  for  summer  use,  such  as  socks,  mittens,  and  a  sort 
of  hats,  by  all  the  Indians,  and  more  especially  by  the 
Esquimaux. 

"  In  winter  the  dry  grasses,  collected  in  the  summer  for 
the  purpose,  and  neatly  tied  in  bunches,  are  shaped  to  cor- 
respond with  the  foot,  and  placed  between  the  foot  and  the 
seal-skin  sole  of  the  winter  boots  worn  in  that  country. 
There  they  serve  as  a  non-conductor,  keeping  the  foot  dry 
and  warm,  and  protecting  it  from  contusion. 

"  Grain  has  never  been  sown  on  a  large  scale  in  the  Yukon 
territory.  Barley,  I  was  informed,  had  once  or  twice  been 
tried  at  Fort  Yukon,  in  small  patches,  and  the  grain  had 
matured,  though  the  straw  was  very  short.  The  experi- 
ments were  never  carried  any  further,  however,  the  traders 
being  obliged  to  devote  all  their  energies  to  the  collection 
of  furs." 

Respecting  the  Aleutian  islands,  he  states  that  "The  climate 
is  better  adapted  for  haying  than  that  of  the  coast  of 
Oregon.  The  cattle  were  remarkably  fat,  and  the  beef  very 
tender  and  delicate  ;  rarely  surpassed  by  any  well-fed  stock. 
Milk  was  abundant.  The  good  and  available  arable  land 
lies  chiefly  near  the  coast,  formed  by  the  meeting  and 
mingling  of  the  detritus  from  mountain  and  valley  with  the 
sea  sand,  which  formed  a  remarkably  rich  and  genial  soil, 
well  suited  for  garden  and  root-crop  culture.  It  occurs  to 
us  that  many  choice  sunny  hillsides  here  would  produce 
good  crops  under  the  thrifty  hand  of  enterprise.  They  are 
already  cleared  for  the  plow.  Where  grain-like  grasses 
grow  and  mature  well,  it  seems  fair  to  infer  that  oats  and 
barley  would  thrive,  provided  they  were  fall-sown,  like  the 
native  grasses.  This  is  abundantly  verified  by  reference  to 
the  collections.  Several  of  these  grasses  had  already 
(September)  matured  and  cast  their  seed  before  we  arrived, 
showing  sufficient  length  of  season.  Indeed  no  grain  will 
yield  more  than  half  a  crop  of  poor  quality  (on  the  Pacific 
slope),  when  spring-sown,  whether  north  or  south. 

"  The  Russians  affirm,  with  confirmation  by  later  visitors, 
that  potatoes  are  cultivated  in  almost  every  Aleutian  village  ; 
and  Veniaminof  states  that  at  the  village  in  Isanotsky 
Strait  they  have  raised  them  and  preserved  the  seed  for 
planting  since  the  begining  of  this  century. 

"  Wild  pease  grow  in  great  luxuriance  near  Unalaska  Bay, 
and  as  far  north  as  latitude  sixty-four  degrees." 

There  is  no  trouble  about  wintering  cattle  and  sheep 
in  Alaska.     Old   traders   have   declared   to  me  that   the 


ECONOMICALLY  CONSIDERED.  53 

musk-ox  exists  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  territory,  especially  near  the  British  boundary 
line,  on  the  other  side  of  which,  in  the  vicinity  ot 
the  Mackenzie  River,  Northwest  Territory,  they  are  quite 
numerous  ;  and  although  some  naturalists  strenuously  in- 
sist that  it  does  not,  and  never  did,  exist  in  Alaska,  there 
seems  no  reason  why  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  should 
constitute  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  their  transit.  There 
are  several  fine  specimens  of  the  musk-ox  in  the  United 
States  National  Museum,  all  of  which  were  obtained 
in  the  Mackenzie  River  country,  but  there  are  none 
from  Alaska ;  so  that  bodily  proof  is  wanting.  On 
the  other  hand  we  read  in  Lieutenant  Schwatka's 
article  printed  in  the  Century  Magazine  in  1883,  that 
the  range  of  the  musk-ox  is  from  latitude  60  degrees 
to  79  degrees,  and  from  the  Rocky  Mountain  di- 
vide, westward,  almost  to  the  Behring  Sea.  The  native 
mountain  sheep  and  goats  of  Alaska  weather  through  the 
inclement  winters  without  sheds  or  cotes,  or  any  shelter  but 
the  dense  undergrowth  which  chokes  every  gully  and  ravine. 
Domestic  utensils  and  ornaments  are  made  by  the  natives 
from  the  horns  of  each,  and  the  latter  animals  are  in  such 
abundance  as  to  furnish  wool  for  quite  an  extensive  manu- 
facture of  blankets  and  clothing.  Wool-growing  should  be- 
come an  important  industry  in  Alaska,  as  it  is  in  Oregon  ; 
and  better,  for  the  atmosphere  there  is  not  so  damp.  Last 
summer  a  single  train  of  twenty  cars  loaded  with  438,000 
pounds  of  wool  was  made  up  at  Portland  for  Philadelphia, 
and  this  was  only  a  fraction  of  the  product  of  the  State.  So 
fine  is  the  texture  of  the  fleece  of  the  Alaskan  Mountain 
goat,  that  the  meanest  homespun  Chilkoot  blanket  fetches 
twenty  dollars.  There  is  not  the -shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
these  animals  can  be  easily  domesticated,  and  the  wool 
product  made  immensely  profitable.  The  very  fact  of  their 
preference  of  location  by  the  wild  goats  and  sheep  show 
that  there  is  no  portion  of  America  more  favorable  for  ovi- 
culture  than  the  ridges  of  Alaska,  while  the  numerous  herds 
of  cariboo,  moose,  and  deer,  away  up  on  the  plateau  of  the 
Yukon,  testify  with  equal  favor  of  the  moors  and  moss- 
barrens  of  the  interior.  What  subsists  one  class  of  animals 
should  subsist  its  kin. 

In  addition  to  the  farming  and  herding,  large  supple- 
mentary revenues  are  now  derived  from  the  dairy,  the 
poultry-yard  and  hog-pen.  Indeed,  butter,  eggs,  beef, 
pork  and  poultry  are  already  staples. 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


The  timber  forests  of  Alaska  are  a  standing  testimony 
to  the  value  of  the  "Seward  Purchase,"  which  even  the 
most  obstreperous  objectors  could  not  deny.  The  visible 
wealth  of  Alaska  lies  in  her  forests.  Alaska  is  the  great 
timber  reserve  of  the  continent.  Trees  of  such  size  and 
commercial  value  exist  nowhere  else  on  the  globe  in  such 
numbers  and  extensive  areas  of  growth.  There  is  a 
supply  here  of  five  thousand  seven  hundred  million  feet  at 
a  low  estimate,  a  very  large  part  of  which  is  at  once  acces- 
sible for  shipment,  as  saw-mills  and  vessels  can  lie  right 
alongside  the  timber  at  tide-water,  all  the  way  up  the 
coast  as  far  as  it  extends.  Saw-mills  at  prominent  points 
on  the  coast  ought  to  pay  well,  for  lumber  is  very  high. 
If  prices  were  less,  the  Indians  alone  would  purchase 
large  quantities.  On  another  page  the  size  and  dimen- 
sions of  some  of  the  largest  yellow  cedars  and 
are  given.  They  are  equalled  only 
coast  States.  Nothing  like  the  red- 
woods, of  course,  but  more  like  Puget  Sound  timber.  We 
are  approaching  a  time  when  the  resources  of  the  Union 
will  be  overtaxed,  and  timber  will  be  scarce ;  but  when 
all  the  states  are  drained  of  their  product,  there  will 


Douglas    pines 
on    the    Pacific 


ECONOMIC  A  LL  Y  CONSIDERED.  5  5 

remain  in  Alaska  a  virgin  reserve  of  more  than  300,000,000 
acres  of  the  noblest  timber  in  the  world — a  source  of  wealth 
upon  which  the  people  may  draw  for  generations  to  come. 
All  the  islands  are  clothed  with  it ;  the  mountains  of  the 
adjacent  main-land  are  covered  with  it ;  great  areas  of  the 
interior  plateau,  which  reaches  to  the  verge  of  the  Arctic 
sea,  are  untracked  wildernesses  of  spruce.  Only  when  peo- 
ple who  are  now  strangers  to  the  land  and  listeners  to  the 
story  come  to  see  the  magnitude  of  these  forests,  and  the 
stupendous  individuality  of  their  giant  trees,  will  they  be 
able  to  realize  the  truth  of  what  is  told  them.  The  lumber- 
men of  the  old  states,  whose  lives  have  been  passed  in 
logging  camps,  would  stand  appalled  at  the  majesty  of  the 
Douglas  pines,  which  tower  heavenward,  and  whose  diame- 
ter is  nine  feet  at  the  base;  or  the  famous  red  cedars,  out 
of  which  the  Indians  make  their  dug-out  canoes,  some  of 
them  sixty  feet  in  length  with  eight  feet  beam  ! 

Alongside  of  some  logs  which  one  finds  prone,  the  choicest 
cull  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  drives,  would  look  like 
fence  posts.  Beside  standing  trees,  the  tallest  rampikes  of 
the  Maine  forests  resemble  saplings.  Here  the  alders  grow 
to  a  diameter  of  sixteen  inches,  and  an  ordinary  maple  leaf 
has  thirteen  inches  span.  Rankness  characterizes  all  the 
growth.  But  the  trees  are  not  all  gigantic,  or  the  forests 
all  unscathed.  The  bulk  of  the  forest  trees  are  of  ordinary 
height,  say  fifty  feet  or  so,  and  the  giants  are  distributed 
throughout  at  neighborly  intervals,  occupying  the  low- 
lands between  the  shoulders  of  the  mountains;  but  many 
of  the  angular  hill-sides  along  the  coast  fairly  bristle  with 
the  skeletons  of  dead  spruces,  which  have  died  from  dearth 
of  nourishment  among  the  rocks;  the  survivors  meanwhile 
drawing  life  from  their  decaying  remains.  As  in  all  known 
forests  frequented  by  man,  fires  have  here  run  through  vast 
areas  of  the  wilderness,  starting  from  carelessness  of  hunt- 
ers and  trappers,  causing  conflagrations  whose  smoke 
obscures  the  sun  for  months  together.  It  is  sad  to  contem- 
plate the  great  destruction  ;  yet  some  of  the  forests  of  Alaska 
are  over-populous.  Time  was,  I  ween,  when  the  only 
smokes  seen  in  the  distant  view  were  the  signals  of  the 
tribes  who  wished  to  communicate  with  each  other  ;  some 
for  the  purpose  of  barter,  some  to  intimate  the  presence  of 
intruders  ;  some  to  indicate  the  direction  to  be  taken,  or  a 
point  of  rendezvous.  Sometimes  the  signal  was  a  big 
smoke,  at  others  only  a  thin  spiral ;  again  there  were  two  or 
three  adjacent,  some  large,  others  small,  with  many  varia- 
tions adapted  to  the   information  to  be  conveyed.     These 


5 6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

Indian  signals  were  almost  as  perfect  as  the  crude  symbols 
of  our  army  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  before  they  were 
formulated  into  a  fixed  code. 

Commercially  considered,  the  trees  of  Alaska  rank  as  fol- 
lows :  Yellow  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock,  alder  and  a  species 
of  fir  or  black  pine.  The  Douglas  pine,  which  is  so  abund- 
ant in  British  Columbia  and  possesses  the  chief  commer- 
cial value  there,  is  replaced  in  great  part  in  Southern 
Alaska  "by  the  white  cedar,  a  splendid  finishing  wood,  out 
of  which  the  Indians  carve  their  totem  poles  or  heraldic 
columns.  The  red  cedar  grows  in  special  abundance  on 
the  lower  coasts,  and  extends  inland  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. It  is  in  great  demand  because  of  its  durability.  Of 
it  the  Indians  make  their  canoes,  roofing  their  houses  with 
the  bark  and  weaving  the  fiber  into  blankets.  The  cypress 
or  yellow  cedar  is  found  in  southern  Alaska.  It  is  suscepti- 
ble of  taking  a  very  fine  polish,  and  considered  valuable  for 
boat-building  and  finishing  purposes.  It  sells  for  $80  per 
thousand  in  San  Francisco.  It  possesses  a  delightful  odor, 
which  like  camphor  wood  it  retains  for  a  long  time  ;  and, 
manufactured  into  boxes  and  chests,  is  very  valuable  for 
packing  furs  and  other  goods,  as  it  is  said  to  be  a  moth 
preventive.  It  is  also  extremely  tough,  and  proof  against 
the  teredo  sea-worm,  and  for  this  reason  is  in  demand  for 
piling  and  all  submarine  purposes.  Samuel's  West  Shore 
Magazine  supplies  the  following  list  of  the  principal  trees  of 
British  Columbia,  nearly  all  of  which  I  believe  are  common 
to  some  portion  of  Alaska,  but  not  all  of  equal  perfection  in 
the  higher  latitude  :  — 

"  Juniper,  or  pencil  cedar,  found  on  the  east  coast  of 
Vancouver  Island,  and  on  the  shores  of  lakes  in  the  inte- 
rior. The  Weymouth,  or  white  pine,  {Pinus  strobus)  found 
on  the  Lower  Fraser,  where  it  attains  great  size  and  beauty. 
The  balsam  pine  attains  a  vigorous  growth,  but  is  of  little 
value  as  timber.  Yellow  pine,  {Pinus  ponderosa)  flourishes 
in  the  interior.  The  wood  is  close-grained  and  durable, 
though  very  heavy.  Scotch  fir,  {Pinus  Bankskiana)  is 
found  in  the  interior  ;  also  on  Vancouver  Island,  though  of 
a  smaller  growth.  Throughout  the  lower  coast  the  hem- 
lock, {Abies  sitkensis)  grows  to  large  proportions,  its  bark 
being  exceedingly  valuable  for  tanning  purposes.  The 
western  larch,  {Larix  occidentalis)  grows  to  immense  size  in 
the  bottoms  along  the  international  line.  The  yew,  ( Taxus 
brevi-folia)  is  found  on  the  coast  and  as  far  up  the  Fraser 
as  Yale.  It  does  not  attain  the  size  of  English  yew.  The 
natives  utilize  it    for    bows.     Oak,   {Q  Garryana)   grows 


ECONOMICALLY  CONSIDERED.  57 

abundantly  on  Vancouver  Islands.  It  is  tough  and  service- 
able. Alder  grows  along  the  streams  of  the  coast,  and 
attains  great  size.  It  is  useful  for  furniture.  Maple  is 
abundant  on  the  islands  and  coast  up  to  latitude  55  degrees. 
The  wood  is  very  useful  for  cabinet  making.  Vine  maple, 
a  very  strong  white  wood,  is  confined  to  the  coast.  Crab- 
apple  grows  along  the  coast.  Dogwood  is  found  on  Van- 
couver Island  and  opposite  coast.  The  aspen  poplar  is 
found  throughout  the  interior.  Another  variety  of  poplar 
abounds  along  the  water  courses  near  the  coast,  and  is  the 
kind  so  much  in  demand  on  Puget  Sound  for  barrel  staves. 
Two  other  kinds  of  poplar — all  known  as  "cottonwood," — as 
well  as  the  mountain  ash,  are  found  in  the  interior  valleys." 

The  white  spruce  is  the  most  widely  distributed  of  Alaska 
trees,  covering  the  country  inland  to  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  up  to  the  very  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  on  the  north. 
The  white  birch  is  also  abundant  in  the  interior,  and  is  used 
for  canoes  by  some  tribes.  The  cottonwood  is  found  on 
the  upper  Yukon,  where  it  is  used  for  navigating  its  rough 
waters.  Manifestly,  there  is  in  Alaska  a  great  variety  of 
merchantable  woods  which  are  available  for  new  uses,  and 
new  woods  which  may  be  substituted  for  others  nearly  used 
up  commercially.  I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  great  value 
of  what  is  there  unrecognized  and  unappreciated,  but  which 
we  can  not  afford  to  ignore  or  overlook  any  longer. 

Some  of  the  mosses  of  Alaska  are  of  special  economic 
value.  They  have  long  been  utilized  by  the  natives  in 
various  ways.  Within  twenty  years  the  tree-mosses  of 
Florida,  Texas,  and  Louisiana  have  become  important 
articles  of  commerce,  chiefly  as  substitutes  for  curled  horse 
hair  in  the  manufacture  of  mattresses,  cushions,  etc.,  and 
the  mosses  of  Alaska  are  equally  desirable  and  available 
for  like  purposes.  The  supply  is  practically  inexhaustible, 
and  when  it  is  contiguous  to  the  coast  it  may  be  gathered 
without  great  labor. 

The  impenetrable  jungle  of  the  Alaskan  forest,  with  its 
windfalls  of  timber  and  profusion  of  wild  fruit  and  succu- 
lent mosses,  constitutes  an  incomparable  nursery  and  pro- 
tection for  its  fauna,  while  the  open  ridges  above  the  timber 
line  are  no  less  secure  from  man's  intrusion  by  the  natural 
obstacles  interposed.  Assuredly,  there  is  no  place  on  the 
continent  where  wild  animals  enjoy  such  perfect  immunity 
from  harm.  It  remains  by  its  natural  gifts  the  only  great 
game  and  fur  preserve  left  in  the  western  world,  and  stands 
ready  and  wide  open  for  the  operations  of  intrepid  hunters 
and  trappers  at  the  very  time  when  other  sources  of  supply 


58  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

have  been  drained,  and  denizens  of  cold  countries  are  look- 
ing about  them  for  substitutes  for  buffalo  robes  and  the 
more  costly  furs  which  have  now  at  last  become  priceless  or 
extinct.  American  furs  are  becoming  scarcer  every  year  as 
civilization  pushes  into  the  wilds.  Oregon,  which  within 
the  memory  of  men  not  old,  was  one  of  the  finest  of  hunting 
grounds,  has  practically  ceased  to  yield  any  thing  of  the 
kind.  Washington  Territory  is  only  productive  in  its  wilder 
portions,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  British  Columbia. 
Alaska,  however,  remains  almost  intact,  and  not  only  the 
lucrative  seal  isles  of  Prybilov,  but  all  the  fastnesses  of  the 
coast  range,  the  "barren  grounds  "  of  the  great  plateau,  and 
the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  flowing  into  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
still  make  it  worth  the  absorbing  attention  of  the  fur  trader, 
and  the  trapper.  The  stock  of  good  merchantable  fur  is 
neither  abundant  nor  cheap  in  Alaska  ;  but  squirrel  robes 
containing  six  or  seven  dozen  skins  neatly  sewed  together 
may  often  be  bought  cheap  at  the  Indian  "  ranches."  They 
make  excellent  cloak  and  coat  linings.  A  red  fox  skin 
costs  two  dollars  ;  mountain  goat  fifty  cents;  black  bear 
from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  unmounted.  Hair  and  fur 
seals  range  in  price,  undressed  from  three  to  ten  dollars  ; 
sea  otter  from  ninety  to  two-hundred  dollars — the  most 
expensive  of  all  American  fur  and  the  most  desirable. 
Land  otter  is  very  pretty,  and  at  one  of  the  Sitka  stores  a 
shoulder  cape  and  muff  made  up  in  San  Francisco  was  offered 
at  twenty-five  dollars.  The  Russian  occupation,  which  was 
founded  on  the  fur  trade  and  enriched  itself  for  a  century 
on  its  profits,  withdrew  from  the  field  before  the  lead  was 
half  worked  out,  nay,  scarcely  opened  !  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company  was  long  ago  attracted  to  the  country  by  its 
inducements,  and  attempted  to  secure  a  foothold  in  it  by 
establishing  trading  posts  on  the  upper  Yukon  as  far  back 
as  1850,  crossing  the  Rocky  mountain  divide  from  the  head 
waters  of  the  Mackenzie;  but  they  were  soon  driven  out  by 
the  Chilkoot  Indians,  the  most  energetic  and  business-like 
of  the  coast  tribes,  who  had  been  for  generations  the  self- 
constituted  middle-men  between  the  seaboard  and  the  in- 
terior ;  and  the  interior  of  Alaska  has  since  remained  an 
unoccupied  field  for  the  pursuit  of  an  industry,  which  for  a 
century  enriched  a  masterful  corporation  and  made  it  almost 
a  sovereign  power.  If  the  brave  spirits  who  started  the 
Northwest  Fur  Company  of  years  ago,  and  whose  survivors 
are  now  few  and  hoary,  could  renew  their  youth  and  energy, 
they  would  ask  no  better  opportunity  for  business  than 
the  one  now  so  opportunely  presented,  with  transportation 


ECONOMICALLY  CONSIDERED.  59 

made  easy  and  bases  of  supplies  convenient,  the  natives 
not  only  friendly  but  earnestly  disposed,  the  cost  of  outfit 
cheap,  and  a  market  more  remunerative  than  was  ever 
offered  before.  With  the  population  doubling  every 
twenty  years,  and  more  and  more  permanent  residents 
wintering  through,  more  mushers  to  muffle  and  furs  of 
superior  quality  for  street  perambulation  in  the  cities,  and 
the  ladies  to  bundle  for  their  cross-country  excursions 
with  sleds  and  kometiks,  and  the  very  general  demand  for 
furs  in  Alaska,  hunters,  trappers,  furriers,  traders  and 
shoppers  ought  to  find  the  fur  business  lucrative.  The 
successes  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  through  the  pro- 
tracted period  of  its  sovereignty,  are  an  earnest  of  the  re- 
sources which  are  held  in  reserve  in  the  Alaskan  fur 
lands;  and  inasmuch  as  its  earnings  reached  millions  an- 
nually, who  dare  say  that  the  "Seward  Purchase"  is  not 
as  good  as  gold,  just  for  its  furs  alone? 

With  regard  to  the  mineral  resources  of  Alaska  whose 
richness  is  rapidly  coming  to  view  with  their  development, 
I  have  chosen  to  devote  a  separate  chapter. 

A  once  lucrative  and  interesting  industry  of  Alaska  is 
the  seal  "fishery,"  so  called,  though  the  animals  are  usu- 
ally driven  upon  the  land  and  knocked  on  the  head  with 
clubs.  For  the  exclusive  privilege  of  catching  seals,  not 
to  exceed  100,000  in  number  per  annum,  the  Alaska  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco  paid  to  the  government  the  stipu- 
lated price  of  $317,000  every  year.  Since  the  lease  ex- 
pired in  1890,  the  seal  catch  has  very  materially  fallen  off 
in  consequence  of  poaching,  so  the  revenue  to  the  govern- 
ment is  far  less  now. 

With  regard  to  the  possibilities  of  the  Alaska  Commercial 
fisheries,  they  may  be  regarded  as  simply  illimitable.  Fish  are 
so  abundant  everywhere,  that  a  dime  will  at  any  time  procure 
from  a  native  all  the  fish  that  ten  men  can  eat.  Halibut 
banks,  cod-fish  banks,  and  rock-cod  bottoms,  occur  at  inter- 
vals all  along  the  coast.  Salmon  jam  the  rivers  and  tidal 
estuaries  so  that  they  can  not  move,  in  masses  many  yards 
wide  and  as  deep  as  the  normal  rise  of  the  tide  (18  feet) 
from  the  surface  to  the  bottom.  In  their  spawning  season 
candle-fish,  or  caplin — beautiful  fish  some  seven  inches 
long,  like  smelts — line  the  beaches  at  each  flood-tide  in 
windrows  a  yard  wide  and  several  inches  deep,  all 
alive  and  kicking,  each  incoming  wave  stranding  a  host 
of  them.     Herring  swarm  in  all  the  estuaries  and  channels. 


60  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

All  the  inlets  abound  in  fish  of  a  hundred  known  and 
unknown  kinds,  good  for  food  and  good  for  oil  and 
fertilizers.  Whales  and  blackfish  are  plentiful  off  the  coast 
and  in  the  estuaries.  There  is  wealth  here  for  all  who 
will  spread  their  nets  or  cast  the  hook.  Devastating 
storms  and  periodical  dearth  of  fish  do  not  make  the  fishing 
business  too  hazardous  to  undertake.  Starvation  never 
threatens.  Our  Cape  Anners  and  Gloucester  fishermen  who 
breast  the  hardships  of  the  Atlantic,  will  here  find  a  more 
congenial  climate  ;  spring  opening  with  fulsome  benefi- 
cence in  early  March  ;  fish  swarming  into  every  estuary 
and  congregating  on  every  outlying  bank  in  ample  season 
for  Lenten  market  ;  herring,  cod  and  halibut  enough  to  sat- 
isfy an  eternity  of  Fridays.  There  labor  stands  already 
provided — men,  native  Indians  accustomed  for  many  gener- 
ations to  the  perils,  intricacies  and  abounding  munificence 
of  the  sea  coast ;  men,  intelligent  and  industrious,  waiting 
with  open  arms  to  welcome  any  enterprise  which  will  give 
them  congenial  and  profitable  employment ;  men  of  dusky 
hue,  and  strong  sinews  to  breast  the  waves  and  haul  the 
seine  and  heave  the  ponderous  halibut  and  rock  cod  from 
their  sequestered  depths,  who  have  already,  of  their  own 
motion  and  energy,  established  canneries  and  oil  factories 
along  their  sea-girt  home  !  Here  on  this  boundless  Pacific 
coast,  where  Yankee  and  Kanuck  have  each  a  thousand 
miles  of  scope,  no  questions  of  jurisdiction  or  marine  pre- 
rogatives need  arise  ;  whispers  of  awards  and  claims  will 
be  lost  in  the  sounding  surf ;  dissensions  and  jealousy  will 
be  drowned  in  the  overwhelming  flood  of  fortune  ;  and  no 
one  will  have  to  wait  on  the  flow  of  tide.  All  the  vessels 
of  the  coast-guard  will  be  impressed  for  holiday  jaunts 
among  the  clustering  islands,  and  moods  and  tenses  of  men 
and  tempests  will  remain  symbolically  "  pacific. "  Should 
the  attachments  of  home  be  too  strong  for  the  sturdy  New 
Englanders  to  cut  their  latch-strings  loose  altogether  and 
deter  them  from  migrating  for  permanent  establishment  on 
new  cruising  grounds,  the  annihilation  of  time  and  distance 
by  modern  facilities  of  transcontinental  transportation  will 
make  each  trip  and  periodical  sojourn  little  more  than  an 
annual  holiday  excursion.  Compared  with  the  precarious 
ventures  of  their  progenitors  who  flocked  to  the  North 
Atlantic  fishing  grounds  before  the  early  days  of  colonial 
settlement,  their  new  departure  would  be  a  bagatelle — a 
mere  reflection  of  personal  hazard  and  commercial  risk. 

Out  in  Alaska  every  thing  which  is  required  for  this  stu- 
pendous industry  grows  spontaneously — an  abundance  of 


ECONOMICALLY  CONSIDERED.  6 1 

bait  without  cost ;  all  materials  for  building  and  cooperage; 
ice  for  packing,  salt  for  curing,  if  it  can  be  evaporated 
profitably,  and  twine  for  nets  and  seines,  which  is  supplied 
by  the  gigantic  kelp,  a  hundred  feet  in  length,  whose  fiber  is 
too  tough  to  break.  At  no  distant  day  ice  from  her  glaciers 
will  be  harvested  for  consumption  in  lower  latitudes,  just  as 
it  is  now  gathered  in  San  Rafael  Bay,  in  South  America,  for 
refrigerating  uses  in  Chili  and  equatorial  towns.  Some 
enterprising  company  will  establish  a  set  of  piers  or  breakers 
in  the  bays  where  the  glacier  streams  debouch,  with  flumes 
and  machinery  for  squaring  the  ice  for  stowage  in  cargo  ;  and 
among  the  ice,  packed  in  galvanized  iron  cases  inclosed  by 
wooden  crates,  fresh  fish  will  be  dispatched  on  ten-knot 
steamers  to  lower  ports,  and  thence  perchance  to  eastern 
cities  where  Pacific  salmon  have  long  been  the  precursors  of 
the  coming  traffic.  Thus  a  combined  industry  may  secure 
a  two-fold  return  from  the  capital  employed.  The  rapid 
drift  of  time  will  see  all  these  things  accomplished,  for  men 
will  not  be  content  to  grub  when  they  can  possess  bonanzas 
for  the  gathering.  Glut  of  labor  will  return  no  more  "  like 
a  dog  to  its  vomit,"  nauseating  the  whole  industrial  system  ; 
but  the  surcharge  will  flow  into  the  open  channels  of  our 
new  possession,  and,  with  the  relief  that  must  follow,  the 
present  pressure  will  measurably  cease  to  aggravate  dis- 
tress. Capital  will  prefer  to  invest  where  it  is  least  liable  to 
disturbance,  and  in  Alaska  the  field  is  broad,  the  laborers  few, 
and  the  branches  of  industry  new  and  almost  untried. 
Long  before  we  began  to  rub  our  eyes  the  citizens  of 
British  Columbia  were  fully  awake  to  the  opportunities 
before  them,  and  alive  to  the  importance  of  their  unde- 
veloped resources,  so  very  like  our  own  in  kind  and  quan- 
tity. At  once  they  had  steamers  running  to  all  essential 
points  up  the  rivers  and  along  the  coast  to  the  interna- 
tional boundary  line.  They  have  established  numerous 
industries,  thrown  open  public  lands  to  settlement,  civ- 
ilized the  Indians,  and  instituted  schools  for  them,  and 
sumptuary  laws.  But  we  are  laggard  no  longer.  We  not 
only  followed  the  lead  of  our  sagacious  predecessors,  but 
we  lead  now  ourselves  in  all  things.  If  not,  why  not? 
Interest  in  the  boundary  dispute  grew  slack  when  the 
rich  placers  of  the  Seward  Peninsula  were  discovered 
ten  years  ago,  and  now  Canada  has  her  Klondike  and  we 
our  Nome,  and  each  of  us  our  own  good  name.  On  this 
we  bank.  At  the  same  time  our  "Cache  near  the 
Pole"  is  a  lasting  verity  upon  which  we  expect  to  draw 


62 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


for  venerations  to  come,  sure  and  inexhaustible.  The 
Pole&may  shift  in  its  secular  progression,  and  the  per- 
sistent Peary  chase  it  from  pillar  to  post  across  the 
ice  pack  and  into  the  ice  blink  until  his  term  of  service 
expires,  but  our  cache  will  hold  radiant  with  pay  streaks 
and  the  color  of  gold.    Meanwhile  let  the  old  flag  wave! 


STONE  TOTEM-POLE  (HAIDAH) 


COURSES   OF   THE   RUSSIAN  FUR    TRADE.       63 


COURSES  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  FUR  TRADE. 


The  prominence  given  to  Alaska  and  Siberia  by  current 
politico-economic  questions  as  well  as  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  popular  authors  and  lecturers  will  render  inter- 
esting any  information  bearing  directly  upon  the  commer- 
cial relations  of  those  two  vast  regions,  especially  in 
view  of  the  possible  union  of  Asia  and  America  in  the 
near  future  by  transcontinental  railroad  and  telegraph. 
Under  this  belief  the  following  history  is  submitted,  with 
the  remark  that  the  route  of  the  government  railroad 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  Bering  Strait  follows  very  nearly 
the  course  of  the  fur  trade,  as  outlined  by  the  writer,  in 
its  gradual  extension  eastward  through  Siberia  to  the  ter- 
ritory once  known  as  Russian-America,  but  now  called 
Alaska. 

In  the  course  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  subse- 
quent to  Czar  Ivan's  conquests  on  the  Caspian,  the  Osti- 
aks,  Samoides,  Tungusi,  Buraits,  Yakouts,  Koriaks, 
Tchuktchi,  all  of  them  inhabitants  of  Siberia,  and  finally 
the  dwellers  in  Kamschatka  successively  came  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Czar.  The  Russians  also  took  posses- 
sion of  the  Amoor  River  in  northern  China  and  held  it 
over  forty  years  (1639  to  1680),  during  which  occupa- 
tion a  very  considerable  intercourse  was  maintained  with 
the  Chinese  subjects  of  Manchuria.  Meanwhile,  discov- 
ering the  marvelous  wealth  of  the  Siberian  wilderness 
and  the  value  of  the  fur  trade  that  in  the  course  of  time 
came  to  yield  3,500,000  silver  roubles  per  annum,  the 
Russian  government  located  "ostrogs"  or  fortified  trad- 
ing posts  all  over  the  country,  opened  commercial  thor- 
oughfares between  the  principal  depots,  and  established 
a  continuous  line  of  communication  from  St.  Petersburg 
to  Bering  Sea,  with  lateral  ramifications  into  China  via 
the  Amoor,  and  through  Kiachta,  the  central  gateway 
of  the  Great  Altai  mountain  range. 


64  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

Tempted  by  the  emoluments  which  the  constantly 
increasing  fur  trade  promised,  the  great  body  of  the 
invading  army,  with  its  motley  following,  remained  in 
Siberia  and  was  distributed  permanently  throughout  the 
country.  By  the  exigencies  of  war,  many  of  the  native 
tribes  were  scattered;  some  were  almost  extirpated,  and 
others  were  driven  to  the  antipodes  of  their  homes.  But 
analogous  pursuits  and  a  common  struggle  for  subsist- 
ence brought  them  all,  aliens  and  aborigines,  into  close 
personal  contact;  and  therefore  it  is  easy  to  see  how  con- 
tinual association  during  the  three  supervening  centuries 
might  naturally  result  in  essential  modifications  of  race 
characteristics.  At  the  same  time  the  strongest  types 
would  remain  constant,  and  generic  peculiarities  and 
customs  be  transmitted  lineally  to  the  latest  generation, 
even  under  most  adverse  circumstances. 

At  the  very  inception  of  the  fur  trade  a  system  of 
annual  fairs  or  exchanges  was  inaugurated  by  the  gov- 
ernment, which  brought  together  to  the  ostrogs  once  a 
year  the  entire  nomadic  population  of  fur  hunters  and  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  shore-dwellers  for  the  pur- 
pose of  barter.  The  principal  fairs  were,  and  are,  held 
at  Ostrownoje,  the  easternmost  and  remotest  trading 
post  of  the  Old  World ;  Okhotsk,  on  the  sea  of  that  name ; 
Yakoutsk,  on  the  Lena  River;  Irkutsk,  on  Lake  Baikal, 
at  the  central  gateway  of  the  Celestial  Empire;  Irbit, 
Tobolsk,  and  Nijni-Novgorod,  whence  the  bales  of  fur 
and  the  miscellaneous  products  of  the  Arctic  Seas  find 
their  way  eventually  through  regular  channels  to  St. 
Petersburg,  Moscow,  and  Pekin,  and  at  last  to  markets 
far  beyond.  There  is  also  at  the  present  day  a  very  con- 
siderable trade  to  the  Amoor,  which,  being  ceded  to  the 
Russians  in  1858,  was  again  occupied  by  them  after  an 
interval  of  almost  two  hundred  years,  and  more  recently 
contested  for  again.  Yakoutsk  is  the  focal  point  and 
entrepot  of  Eastern  Siberia,  lying  on  the  border  line  that 
separates  the  countries  of  the  Yakouts  and  Tungusi — the 
latter  occupying  the  center  of  Siberia  and  the  Yakouts 
the  country  north  of  them  up  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Orig- 
inally the  Yakouts,  or  Jakuts,  occupied  as  far  south  and 
west  as  the  Baikal  and  Angora,  but  were  driven  thence 
by  the  more  powerful  hordes  of  Tungusi,  who  were,  in 
turn,  subjugated  by  the  Russians  in  1640,  about  the  time 
when  the  Manchus  conquered  the  Chinese  Empire.    Al- 


COURSES   OF   THE  RUSSIAN  FUR   TRADE.       65 

though  the  Manchus  and  Tungusi  come  from  the  same 
stock,  the  difference  in  their  fate  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  Manchus  were  better  armed  and  disciplined 
than  the  Chinese,  while  the  Tungusi  had  only  bows  and 
arrows  to  oppose  to  the  firearms  of  the  Cossacks.  The 
Manchu  tongue  is  now  the  court  language  of  Pekin, 
while  the  Tungusi  are  nomads,  poor  and  ignorant. 

It  was  a  bad  day  for  Eastern  Siberia  when  the  Yakouts 
were  crowded  up  to  the  Lena  by  the  victorious  Tungusi, 
for  they  in  turn  dispossessed  the  weaker  tribes  which 
they  found  in  possession  of  the  country  and  established 
themselves  as  far  eastward  as  the  Kolyma  River,  on  the 
frontier  of  the  Tschuktchi,  the  most  eastern  tribe  of  Asia, 
whose  ultimate  boundary  is  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  Bering 
Sea.  The  Yakouts,  or  Jakuts,  have  always  possessed  a 
higher  civilization  than  is  found  elsewhere  in  the  same 
latitude,  except  in  Iceland,  Finland  and  Norway ;  and  by 
their  superior  intelligence  and  force  of  character  they 
have  stamped  their  impress  upon  all  with  whom  they  have 
come  in  contact.  Theirs  is  the  dominant  language  from 
the  basin  of  the  Lena  to  the  extreme  eastern  coast  of 
Siberia.  All  the  Tungusi  speak  Jakut.  Russian  ts 
scarcely  known  in  two-thirds  of  its  Asiatic  possessions. 
For  centuries  the  Jakuts  have  been  the  common  carriers 
for  all  the  peoples  with  whom  they  have  had  commercial 
intercourse.  "Without  the  Jakut  and  his  horse,"  says 
Middendorf,  the  eminent  naturalist  and  Siberian  ex- 
plorer, "the  Russians  would  never  have  been  able  to  pen- 
etrate to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  and  from  thence  to  the 
Aleutian  chain ;  but  for  him  they  never  would  have  set- 
tled on  the  Kalyma,  nor  have  opened  commercial  inter- 
course with  the  Tschuktchi  and  the  eastern  Eskimo. 
*  *  *  Before  the  possession  of  the  Amoor  had  opened 
a  new  road  to  commerce  (1640),  thousands  of  pack 
horses  used  annually  to  go  to  Okhotsk." 

Jakutsh  merchants  were  the  pioneers  of  trade  with 
Kamschatka,  and  many  hundreds  of  them  settled  on  that 
peninsula  and  remained  until  the  forests  of  the  New 
World  became  the  ultimate  quest  of  the  insatiable  fur 
hunters.  When  pursuit  was  pushed  to  the  adjacent  con- 
tinent they  were  the  first  to  venture  in  crazy  craft  across 
the  Sea  of  Kamschatka  (now  called  Bering),  discovering 
the  island  of  Kadiak  in  the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  and 
opening  barter  with  the  natives;  so  that  three  centuries, 


66  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

at  least,  have  elapsed  since  the  infusion  of  Asiatic  ele- 
ments into  the  Aleutian  composition. 

But  there  are  shorter  routes  than  this  from  Asia  to 
America,  and  there  must  have  been,  from  a  period  long 
anterior,  intercommunication  between  land  and  land, 
whose  approximate  shores  are  so  contiguous  as  to  be  dis- 
cernible from  a  boat  in  mid-passage,  and  whose  inhabi- 
tants are  constantly  afloat  in  pursuit  of  a  livelihood. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  little  to  invite  barter  between 
neighboring  peoples  whose  products  were  as  homogene- 
ous as  themselves ;  for  traffic  in  tobacco,  sugar  and  iron 
implements  had  not  begun  thus  early.  Such  tangible 
intimations  of  a  superior  civilization  had  not  so  soon 
penetrated  the  interminable  versts  of  wilderness  which 
intervened. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Asiatic  blood  and  Asiatic 
customs,  transmitted  through  the  Manchus  and  Tungusi, 
with  the  Jakut  predominating,  are  deeply  engrafted  into 
the  coast  dwellers  of  western  Alaska  and  the  Aleutian 
Islands ;  and,  furthermore,  inasmuch  as  all  the  shore 
tribes  intermarry  promiscuously,  that  they  have  perme- 
ated southeastern  Alaska  and  the  Alexandrian  Archipel- 
ago. George  William  Stellar,  a  distinguished  ethnologist 
who  accompanied  Bering  on  his  second  voyage  of  dis- 
covery in  1741  and  landed  at  Kaiak  Island,  on  the  Alas- 
kan coast,  noticed  such  race  similarities,  and  he  immedi- 
ately conjectured  that  the  aborigines  of  that  part  of  the 
American  coast  must  be  of  the  "same  origin  as  the  Kam- 
schatkans."  But  the  Kamschatkans  had  then  been  inti- 
mate with  the  Jakuts  for  a  century,  and  1,000  of  the  latter 
were  settled  at  Petropovolsk,  imparting  their  dominant 
traits  to  the  natives,  after  having  been  amalgamated  for 
a  still  longer  period  with  the  Tungusi,  who  are  of  Man- 
chu  stock.  The  Jakuts  have  a  Mongolian  cast  of  fea- 
tures, but  Middendorf  says  there  is  a  tradition  that  they 
are  of  Turkish  extraction.  They  are  very  shrewd  and 
''beat  the  Jews"  for  trading.  They  are  keen  of  vision, 
very  hardy,  great  hunters,  well  versed  in  woodcraft,  pur- 
suing the  fur-bearing  animals  with  great  persistence. 
Their  memory  is  remarkable,  and  their  bump  of  locality 
well  developed.  Like  the  Alaskans,  they  are  ingenious 
artificers  and  artisans.  In  manual  dexterity  they  surpass 
all  other  Siberian  nations.  Long  before  the  Russian  con- 
quert  they  made  use  of  iron  ore  to  manufacture  their  own 


COURSES   OF   THE  RUSSIAN  FUR    TRADE.       67 

knives  and  axes,  in  the  use  of  which  they  are  very  ex- 
pert. They  are  acquainted  with  flint  and  steel.  Their 
women  make  carpets  of  white  and  colored  skins.  Their 
only  domestic  animals  are  the  dog  and  the  horse.  Houses 
are  built  of  slabs  or  logs  placed  upright,  with  sleeping 
berths  ranged  along  the  sides  on  a  raised  dais  or  plat- 
form, the  center  of  the  earthen  floor  being  occupied  by  a 
hearth,  the  smoke  of  which  issues  through  an  aperture 
in  the  roof.  They  are  gross  feeders,  and  celebrate  wed- 
dings and  special  events  by  feasting,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  Alaskan  "potlatch."  This,  for  the  most  part,  seems 
literally  descriptive  of  what  was  to  be  seen  in  Alaska 
twenty  years  ago.     It  is  identical. 

Stellar,  when  he  landed  at  Kaiak  in  1741,  found  a 
wooden  tray  hollowed  from  a  trunk  of  a  tree,  into  which 
hot  stones  were  placed  to  heat  water  for  boiling  meat. 
He  also  found  a  cellar  filled  with  smoked  fish  and  cov- 
ered with  a  platform  made  of  strips  of  bark  laid  on 
poles,  and  numerous  implements  "like  those  used  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Kamschatka,"  all  of  which  will  be  at  once 
recognized  by  anybody  familiar  with  Alaskan  domestic 
economy  of  a  later  period. 

The  Jakuts  call  themselves  Christians,  having  doubt- 
less been  absorbed  into  the  Greco-Roman  church  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  but  they  all  believe  in  shamanism, 
which  is  a  sort  of  barbarous  faith  cure,  and  have  an  ab- 
ject fear  of  evil  spirits.  Shaman  is  the  name  applied  to 
the  sorcerer  or  magician  among  many  of  the  tribes  of 
northern  Asia,  and  the  shaman  and  shamanism  were 
until  recently  alike  prevalent  along  pretty  nearly  the 
entire  coast  of  Alaska  up  to  "the  Arctic  Ocean.  The 
Jakuts  are  generally  reserved  in  manner,  small  in  stature, 
with  broad  shoulders,  prominent  cheek  bones,  noses  small, 
lips  very  full,  hair  black,  complexion  dark  brown,  or 
sometimes  yellow — a  description  which  answers  very  well 
for  some  of  the  Alaskan  natives.  The  men  sometimes 
have  full  beards,  and  the  women  paint  their  faces  with 
black  and  red  pigments  mixed  with  fat. 

Some  conspicuous  peculiarities  of  the  Alaskan  natives 
seem  to  have  been  borrowed  directly  from  the  Tungusi. 
For  instance,  the  Tungusi  are  divided  into  clans  accord- 
ing to  their  occupations,  or  to  the  domestic  animals  which 
they  employ,  or  to  those  which  they  have  killed  in  the 
chase,  notably  the  horse,  dog,  reindeer,  frog,  raven  and 


68  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

bear,  and  are  distinguished  by  their  respective  names. 
This  peculiarity  is  illustrated  in  the  Alexandrian  Archi- 
pelago by  the  heraldic  totem  poles  which  have  been  such 
striking  objects  of  interest  to  tourists.  The  Tungusi  have 
also  evidently  transmitted  the  superstition  of  the  thunder 
bird ;  they  do  not  bury  the  dead,  but  place  tiiem  in  large 
chests  on  platforms,  or  in  the  forks  of  trees ;  they  hold 
slaves,  and  traffic  in  women ;  brides  are  bought  for  mer- 
chandise, or  earned  by  long  periods  ol  service;  cannibal- 
ism and  human  sacrifices  are  not  unknown;  all  of  which 
conditions  were  prevalent  in  Alaska  at  a  period  not  re- 
mote. 

The  strangely  composite  Chinook  jargon  in  use  along 
the  entire  North  Pacific  Coast,  which  was  invented  by 
the  early  traders  to  facilitate  business  intercourse,  repre- 
sents very  well  the  ethnography  of  the  people,  for  it  was 
formulated  from  all  the  spoken  languages  and  dialects  of 
the  associated  inhabitants ;  and  we  shall  find  by  analysis 
that  a  moiety  of  the  words  are  of  Asiatic  origin,  while 
we  observe  at  once  a  prevalent  substitution  of  the  letter 
1  for  r,  as  in  China.  Some  importance  should  attach  to 
collateral  testimony  of  this  character.  It  is  at  least  a  link 
in  the  chain  of  evidence.  Sir  George  Simpson,  in  his 
"Overland  Journey  Around  the  World,"  tells  how  the 
bales  of  fur  which  arrive  at  Kiachta,  on  the  Chinese  fron- 
tier, are  covered  with  walrus  hide  from  the  Arctic  coasts, 
the  same  being  forthwith  utilized  to  protect  the  tea  chests 
which  are  shipped  thence  to  Moscow,  whereby  a  perfect 
continuity  of  overland  traffic  is  "blazed"  half  way  round 
the  globe.  By  the  same  token  we  can  readily  trace  the 
lineage  of  representative  peoples  employed  along  the  line 
of  traffic. 

It  is  quite  as  easy  to  follow  the  races,  through  their 
commercial  connection,  across  the  Strait  of  Bering  into 
what  was  so  long  known  as  Russian-America.  By  the 
year  1769  a  very  large  area  of  that  vast  country  had  been 
so  thoroughly  prospected  by  fur  hunters  and  explorers 
that  it  was  intelligently,  though  rudely  charted.  Up  to 
the  time  of  the  accession  of  the  consolidated  Russian  Fur 
Company  in  1779,  no  less  than  sixty  distinct  trading  com- 
panies had  been  established.  Posts  were  scattered  all 
over  the  interior,  as  well  as  along  the  coast.  The  pur- 
suit of  the  seal,  sea  otter,  ice  bear,  whale,  walrus,  and 
other  hunting  operations,  extended  over  3,000  miles,  from 


COURSES   OF   THE  RUSSIAN  FUR   TRADE.       69 

Kadiak  in  the  Aleutian  chain  over  to  the  Kurile  Islands  of 
Japan,  and  up  to  the  extreme  north  coasts  of  Asia  and 
America.  In  the  course  of  the  great  monopoly  there 
came  to  be  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  these 
trading  posts  in  Russian-America.  The  Russians  con- 
tinued the  same  commercial  system  which  they  had  inau- 
gurated in  Siberia  long  before.  Trails  and  thorough- 
fares were  established  along  the  principal  water-courses 
and  across  the  divides  which  separated  their  headwaters, 
and  brigades  annually  packed  their  furs  and  supplies 
over  them  to  designate  depots. 

Precisely  the  same  system  was  prosecuted  by  the  con- 
temporaneous Hudson  Bay  Company,  whose  outposts 
by  that  time  had  been  pushed  to  the  sources  of  the  Mac- 
kenzie River,  and  even  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  Yukon.  The  headwaters  of  the  Yukon  interlock 
with  those  of  the  Mackenzie,  and  there  was  regular  traffic 
over  an  eighty-mile  portage  between  the  two  to  points 
where  forty- foot  barges,  drawing  two  feet  of  water, 
could  float.  Again,  there  was  an  established  thorough- 
fare, and  now  is,  all  along  the  continental  coast  line,  west 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Colville,  where  an  Eskimo  coast  brigade  meets  a  brigade 
which  comes  up  from  Kotzebue  Sound  via  the  Noatak 
River  and  across  a  portage  to  the  Colville  River,  which  it 
descends,  there  exchanging  tobacco  and  iron  implements 
for  seal  products.  When  the  barter  is  over,  the  Point 
Barrow  Eskimos  journey  eastward  to  Barter  Reef,  where 
they  obtain,  from  eastern  Eskimos,  lamps,  knives,  beads, 
guns  and  ammunition  (brought  from  the  Mackenzie 
River),  which  they  exchange  the  following  year  for 
Kotzebue  goods  at  the  Colville  rendezvous.  There  is 
also  a  shore  route  from  Icy  Cape  on  the  Arctic  Coast, 
over  which  furs  and  walrus  teeth  are  sent  from  hand  to 
hand  as  far  as  Gwosdew  Islands,  in  Bering  Strait,  where 
they  are  bartered  for  tobacco,  knives  and  iron  kettles  of 
Tchuktchi,  who  obtain  them  from  Sledge  Island  on  East 
Cape  of  Siberia,  to  which  they  have  previously  been 
shipped  from  Ostrownoje.  Thus  did  the  early  articles 
of  Russian  manufacture  gradually  find  their  way  along 
the  American  coast  as  far  east  as  Repulse  Bay,  there  com- 
peting among  the  tribes  of  the  Mackenzie  district  with 
articles  from  Sheffield  or  Birmingham,  in  England.  By 
this  hyperborean  transit  and  line  of  connection  it  may 


70  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

be  possible  to  establish  an  old-time  relationship  with  the 
Eskimo  of  the  entire  circumpolar  region.  Matiuschin, 
who  was  Baron  Wrangell's  companion,  says  that  "the 
Tschuktchi  belong  to  the  widespread  Eskimo  family  and 
live  in  the  same  way.  They  are  of  Chinese  origin, 
hardened  by  acclimation." 

The  Eskimos  of  the  Arctic  belt  have  hitherto  occu- 
pied their  isolated  geographical  position  from  sheer  ne- 
cessity, compelled  no  less  by  exigencies  of  subsistence 
than  fear  of  coterminous  hostile  tribes.  They  are  never 
found  far  from  the  coast  line,  because  the  sea  amply 
supplies  their  wants.  Deer  and  wild  fowl  come  to  them 
in  Summer,  and  in  Winter  there  is  no  occasion  for  them 
to  leave  the  coast,  for  the  adjacent  country  to  the  south- 
ward is  an  inhospitable  ice  plain,  barely  covered  with 
lichens  and  sphagmum,  and  utterly  destitute  of  life. 
Nature  has  interposed  it  as  a  neutral  and  uninhabitable 
belt  to  separate  them  from  the  Red  Indians  who  are 
their  hereditary  enemies  and  merciless. 

Thus  restricted  to  the  Arctic  Zone,  they  can  migrate 
only  on  east  and  west  lines.  Their  hazardous  pursuits 
require  an  association  of  labor,  so  that  they  are  obliged 
to  dwell  in  communities.  Exigencies  of  the  chase — some 
dearth  or  superabundance  of  salmon,  seals,  whales  or 
other  creatures  upon  which  they  depend  for  subsistence — 
sometimes  drive  or  attract  them  to  new  regions  and  stim- 
ulate the  planting  of  new  communities,  so  that  it  seems 
easy  to  account  for  the  continuous  extension  of  Eskimo 
settlement  from  Bering  Sea  to  Smith  Sound,  and  also  for 
the  persistence  of  the  Mongolian  type,  with  unaltered 
habits  and  manners,  whether  they  be  independent  or 
under  Russian,  Danish  or  British  rule.  Only  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  do  they  venture  into  lower  latitudes,  rang- 
ing southward  as  far  as  the  Aleutian  Peninsula,  in  lati- 
tude fifty-eight  degrees,  where  they  meet  and  fraternize 
with  their  congeners  from  Asia,  no  longer  deterred  by 
fear  of  hostile  aliens,  but  by  their  presence  bearing 
significant  testimony  to  their  common  origin.  On  the 
Atlantic  Coast  the  Eskimos  drop  down  to  Ivuktuk  Inlet, 
or  Eskimo  Bay,  in  latitude  fifty-five  degrees. 


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AN   INTERIOR  VIEW. 


The  territory  of  Alaska,  is  naturally  divided  into  two 
immense  districts,  insular  and  continental ;  and  the  latter, 
owing  to  its  vast  area  and  mountainous  interruptions  is 
again  subdivided  into  three  districts  with  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly defined  boundaries  and  characteristics.  The  northern 
district,  bordering  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  comprising  a  third, 
is  principally  a  series  of  spruce  timber  fiats  and  moss 
barrens,  or  "  tundras  ; "  the  eastern  division,  lying  between 
the  coast  range  of  mountains  and  the  Rockies,  is  occupied 
by  the  broken  and  diversified  country  which  is  drained  by 
the  upper  Yukon,  presenting  every  contour  of  mountain, 
valley  and  plain.  The  southwestern  portion,  not  including 
the  Alaska  peninsula,  and  the  Aleutian  Islands,  is  in  large 
part  a  spruce  timbered  flat,  but  the  "  Alaskan  range  "  of 
mountains,  500  miles  or  more  in  length,  occupies  its 
southern  portion.  The  delta  of  the  Yukon  on  the  west  coast, 
is  an  alluvial  flat.  The  Yukon,  itself,  nearly  as  long  as  the 
Mississippi,  almost  bisects  the  territory.  It  lies  midway 
between  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  flowing  in  a  general 
east  and  west  direction,  but  with  a  tremendous  curvilinear 
sweep  conformable  to  the  outline  of  the  coast,  which  carries 
it  up  through  seven  degrees  of  latitude  into  the  very  verge 
of  the  Arctic  Zone.  With  its  twenty  or  thirty  great  tribu- 
taries, it  constitutes  a  vast  fluvial  system  which  drains  almost 
the  entire  territory.     Besides  this,  there  are  several  large 


72  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

rivers  like  the  Stickeen,  the  Taku,  Suchitno,  and  Copper 
Rivers,  which  find  their  way  to  the  sea  through  great  gaps  in 
the  mountains,  and  others  which  drain  the  glaciers  and  the 
melted  snows  of  the  peaks.  On  the  north  shore  are  several 
large  rivers  flowing  into  the  Arctic.  The  prevailing  level 
of  the  great  interior  plateau  is  interrupted  only  by  a  few 
isolated  mountains  and  mountain  ranges,  which  lie  princi- 
pally in  the  southwest.  It  is  a  co-ordinate  and  extension  of 
the  plateau  of  the  Columbia  and  the  country  south  of  it, 
between  the  same  meridians,  except  that  the  arid  sage  and 
prickly  pear  of  the  latter  are  replaced  in  Alaska  by  bound- 
less grass  prairies  and  the  so-called  "  tundras,"  on  which 
the  moss  grows  knee-deep,  nurtured  into  rank  exuberance 
by  the  constant  melting  under  the  fervid  heat  of  midsummer 
of  the  omnipresent  stratum  of  ice,  which  underlies  it.  In 
like  manner  the  grain  of  Manitoba  and  the  Northwest 
Territory  is  stimulated  into  a  marvelous  yield  by  the  very 
instrumentality  which  wiseacres  in  the  early  period  of  inves- 
tigation declared  would  kill  it.  And  the  interior  of  Alaska 
is  much  milder  than  the  region  which  lies  east  of  the 
Rockies  in  the  same  latitude,  as  every  body  knows.  The 
conditions  of  prolific  growth  in  high  latitudes  are  continu- 
ous moisture,  and  a  temperature  sufficiently  high  and  evenly 
maintained  to  constitute  an  equivalent  for  the  longer  sea- 
sons of  lower  latitudes  where  rainfall  is  insufficient. 
Maturity  can  be  secured  by  a  forcing  process  in  half  the 
time  that  is  reached  by  natural  operations  where  the  tem- 
perature and  irrigation  are  uneven.  In  the  long  days  of  an 
Alaskan  midsummer  the  sun  dips  but  little  below  the 
horizon,  and  Venus,  the  brightest  star  that  shines,  alone  is 
visible  at  midnight.  Between  sunset  and  sunrise  the 
warmed  earth  suffers  no  temporary  chill,  even  though  per- 
petual ice  lies  not  two  feet  beneath.  Cole's  new  system  of 
subsoil  irrigation,  which  is  attracting  such  general  attention, 
and  shows  such  prodigious  results,  is  merely  an  arti- 
ficial application  of  the  natural  process  in  operation  under 
the  shadows  of  the  north  pole.  It  counteracts  solar  evapo- 
ration, supplying  moisture  to  the  growing  plants  as  they 
need  it,  and  becomes,  as  it  were,  the  measure  of  the  fertility 
of  the  soil.  It  is  not  unusual  to  find  the  ground  frozen  eight 
feet  deep  in  northern  Minnesota  ;  and  if  it  freezes  a  hundred 
feet  deep  in  Alaska,  what  does  it  signify,  more  or  less  ? 

When  the  future  requirements  of  settlement  shall  test  the 
capabilities  of  the  interior  climate,  it  will  undoubtedly  be 
found  as  fruitful  as  Minnesota  for  all  crops  not  requiring  a 
long  period  of  ripening,    Alaska  will  make  four  §*«**»*< 


AN  INTERIOR   VIEW.  75 

Lieutenant  Schwatka  says  that  luxuriant  moss  fields  and 
great  timber  flats,  densely  covered  with  spruce,  extend  to 
the  very  verge  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  In  his  admirable 
report,  which  is  more  tropical  than  boreal  in  its  coloring,  he 
refers  to  these  frequently,  and  to  the  great  bands  of  caribou 
or  reindeer  which  find  pasturage  on  the  tundra.  He  writes 
of  grass-covered  bluffs  along  the  rivers  ;  of  foot-hills,  with 
an  impenetrable  underbrush  of  deciduous  vegetation  ;  of 
vast  expanses  of  treeless  prairie,  of  thick  black  loamy  soil ; 
of  rank  dead  grass,  which  remains  over  until  June  from  the 
previous  year,  looking  like  fields  of  yellow  stubble.  He 
speaks  of  thunder  storms,  of  broods  of  young  grouse  early 
in  June,  of  flowers  on  all  sides,  of  cloudless  skies  and 
blistering  sun,  of  wild  hops  and  onions  and  berries  in  pro- 
fusion, of  myriads  of  great  mosquitoes,  which  drive  the 
game  to  the  mountain  slopes  above  the  timber  line,  and 
other  like  phenomena  altogether  at  variance  with  commonly 
conceived  opinions  of  the  territory.  Up  to  the  very  head- 
waters of  the  Yukon  and  its  lateral  tributaries,  the  noble 
salmon  run  ;  the  adjacent  lakes  are  filled  with  salmon 
trout,  which  reach  ten  pounds  in  weight,  and  all  the 
brooklets  teem  with  mountain  trout  like  those  of  Montana  ; 
in  the  long  reaches  of  the  Yukon  itself,  as  well  as  in 
its  fluvial  feeders,  grayling  which  weigh  a  pound  may  be 
caught  in  great  abundance  ;  and  if  one  will  pass  through 
the  country  in  mid-summer,  as  Schwatka  did,  he  will  find 
brush  camps  and  canvas  tents  lining  the  river  banks  at 
frequent  intervals,  where  the  Indians  are  curing  fish  for 
their  winter  supply  ;  and  should  he  for  any  reason  pene- 
trate beyond  into  those  vast  tracts  which  white  men  have 
seldom  trod,  he  will  discover  other  Indians  with  stores  of 
hides  and  pelts  stripped  from  the  scores  of  cariboo  and 
moose  which  they  have  captured  among  the  willow  copses 
of  the  far-reaching  "  tundras,"  or  perchance  the  skins  of  a 
few  black  or  grizzly  bears  picked  up  accidentally  beside 
some  river  bank  or  shore  of  lake — for  the  Indians  fear  to 
hunt  in  the  tangles  of  the  forest  where  the  multitude  of 
bears  and  the  difficulties  of  the  jungle  make  it  unsafe  to 
look  even  for  small  game  ;  and  so  they  resort  only  to  run- 
ways there,  and  the  methods  of  the  "  still  hunt."  There  is 
no  use  for  hounds  in  the  coverts  of  Alaska  ;  they  might  as 
well  try  to  run  through  an  osage  hedge.  The  Indians  use 
the  reindeer  or  cariboo  hide  for  clothing,  dog-harness,  and 
covering  of  tepees,  or  lodges  ;  and  the  very  fact  that  so 
slight  a  habitation  is  a  sufficient  protection  against  the 
extremes*  rigors  of  the  climate  is  evidence  of  its  compara« 


76  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

tive  mildness  ;  albeit  the  Indians  of  the  lower  river  have 
greater  need  of  more  substantial  houses,  which  they  build 
like  those  of  white  folks,  with  boards  riven  from  the  helm- 
lock  and  smoothed  with  adzes,  thatching  them  with  the  bark 
of  cedar.  The  tundras  or  moss  barrens  where  they  hunt 
professionally,  and  except  for  daily  supply,  are  similar  to 
the  "  muskegs  "  of  northern  Minnesota,  and  the  adjacent 
country — not  wholly  a  growth  of  yielding  moss,  knee  deep, 
but  interjected  with  thickets  of  willows  and  mingled  with 
rank,  coarse  grass  which  grows  breast  high  ;  sometimes  they 
are  interspersed  with  cranberry  bogs  and  patches  of  wild 
roses,  with  here  and  there  a  slough  or  pocket  of  water,  dyed 
wine-color  with  the  steepings  of  the  dead  leaves  and  mosses. 
Walking  over  a  tundra  is  like  promenading  a  feather-bed. 
This  thick  undergrowth  of  moss  is  found  in  all  the  forests 
and  above  the  timber  line  as  well  ;  and  a  lady  correspondent 
of  the  American  Register,  of  Paris,  France,  who  is  a  botanist 
and  an  impulsive  student  of  the  woodlands,  has  written  : 

"  The  Alaskan  forests  are  the  finest,  in  a  picturesque  way, 
in  the  United  States.  Trees  grow  upright  from  prostrate 
and  dead  trees,  from  the  tops  of  stumps,  and  they  are  draped 
with  black  and  white  moss,  dry,  fine,  and  crinkly,  like  hair, 
which  produce  a  most  weird  and  Druidical  effect.  Mosses 
grow  to  a  depth  of  from  six  to  ten  inches,  and  on  the 
top  of  stumps,  dead  branches,  and  every  dead  thing  is 
cushioned  deep  with  moss  and  draped  with  vines.  Par- 
ticularly does  the  Cornus  Canadensis  enwreath  logs  and 
stumps  in  the  most  charming  way."  All  of  which  I  hope 
will  corroborate  what  others  say  of  the  exuberance  of 
Alaska  ;  yet  I  think  the  tree  mosses  there  can  in  nowise 
compare  with  those  of  Florida  or  Louisiana. 

The  upper  portion  of  the  Yukon  valley,  or  rather  the 
entire  region  which  the  upper  river  drains,  is  spoken  of  as 
almost  a  perfected  Eden.  Flowers  bloom,  beneficent  plants 
yield  their  berries  and  fruits  ;  majestic  trees  spread  their 
umbrageous  fronds,  and  song  birds  make  the  branches 
vocal.  The  water  of  the  streams  is  pure  and  pellucid  ; 
the  blue  of  the  rippled  lakes  is  like  Geneva's  ;  their  banks 
resplendent  with  verdure,  and  with  grass  and  shining  peb- 
bles. Wherever  the  rocks  lift  up  their  crags  they  are 
cushioned  with  luxurious  moss.  Nature  is  enjoying  a 
grateful  surcease  from  labor.  Lower  down,  in  the  middle 
country,  the  creation  is  quite  unfinished.  One  can  per- 
ceive that  the  processes  of  the  glacial  forces  are  still  in 
operation.  All  the  fluvial  waters  are  white  or  milky  with 
the  glacial  mud  washed  down  from  the  sluices  of  the  out* 


AN  IN TERIOR  VIE  W.  77 

lying  chains  of  mountains,  where  the  Titanic  pulverizers  of 
their  rocky  flanks  are  yet  industriously  grinding.  Like  the 
muddy  Missouri  into  the  limpid  Mississippi,  pours  the 
impetuous  White  River  into  the  Yukon,  with  a  current  so 
swift  that  it  sends  its  discolored  waters,  chalky  with  the 
debris  of  the  glaciers  nearly  across  the  other  stream, 
changing  its  sparkling  blue  into  an  element  which  even  the 
fish  avoid.  A  few  miles  below  the  White  another  river  of 
the  same  size  and  character  comes  in,  called  the  Stewart  ; 
and  others  still,  at  frequent  intervals — at  least  a  dozen  of 
them — as  far  down  as  the  majestic  Porcupine  near  Fort 
Yukon,  five  hundred  miles  or  more.  All  such  lakes  as  are 
widenings  of  the  river  beds  are  bordered  with  deep  deposits 
of  the  same  mud,  which  are  gradually  filling  them  up,  pre- 
paring a  richness  of  alluvial  land  which  in  the  course  of  a 
brief  span  of  geological  time  will  constitute  the  most  fertile 
fields  of  all  the  hyperborean  world.  And  a  thousand  miles 
further  down,  the  outflow  of  the  Yukon  delta  is  building 
out  land  in  the  Bering  Sea,  just  as  has  been  going  on  for 
centuries  at  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  forming  shoals, 
dangerous  to  approach  from  the  outboard,  which  every 
storm  lashes  into  a  muddy  froth.  The  delta  of  the  Yukon 
is  a  labyrinth  of  channels  and  islands  whose  upper  ends  are 
piled  yards  high  with  driftwood  brought  down  by  the  cur- 
rent, and  all  the  levels  are  fringed  and  interspersed  with 
low  willows  which  have  replaced  the  poplars  and  spruces  of 
the  upper  country.  This  is  the  land  of  the  Esquimaux  ;  and 
hereaway,  not  only  up  stream,  but  along  the  coast,  one  can 
study  their  native  habits  and  peculiarities,  not  so  primitive 
and  boreal  as  in  the  Kane  country  and  Greeley  land,  yet 
still  suggestive  of  sealskin,  blubber,  and  whalebone. 
Though  their  houses  are  modern  and  within  the  civilizing 
influence  of  the  Greek  missions  around  which  they  have 
clustered  for  two  generations,  one  will  see  their  kayaks  and 
bidarkas  (sealskin  canoes)  and  their  toupiks  (or  summer 
tents  of  sealskin)  scattered  along  the  shore  ;  and  if  he 
should  search  behind  the  permanent  winter  dwellings  he 
would  find  a  cometik,  or  sled,  convenient  for  winter  use 
early  in  September,  with  sharp-eared  dogs  at  hand  to  draw 
them  at  the  proper  time,  though  now  listless  in  their  summer 
indolence,  lazily  snapping  at  flies  congregated  in  the  tena- 
cious atmosphere  of  stale  fish.  On  pegs  inside  hang 
hairless  sealskin  boots  well  tanned  and  preserved  by  their 
natural  oil,  waterproof  jackets  made  of  walrus  intestines, 
which  find  a  ready  sale  to  the  tribes  far  southward,  nets 
made  of   the   prepared  fibers  of  the  6ea-ke!p,  queer  fish* 


78  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

hooks  of  wood  and  bone,  and  many  an  ornament  or 
utensil  into  whose  ingenious  composition  are  fabricated 
portions  of  the  skeletons  and  integuments  of  walrus,  seal 
and  whale. 

Such  are  the  varied  features  of  our  interior  domain,  not 
less  foreign  because  our  flag  floats  over  them,  but  con- 
cerning us  the  more  on  that  account,  and  well  worth  our 
investigation,  not  merely  as  hunters  of  curios,  but  as 
speculators  and  shrewd  men  of  business.  Undoubtedly 
portions  of  Alaska  are  very  charming  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  but  the  sophisticated  explorer  will  incline  to  avoid 
them  in  fly-time.  The  romance  of  natural  history  is  not 
confined  exclusively  to  the  tropics.  The  mosquitoes  of 
Alaska  are  unquestionably  bigger  than  the  southern  bred, 
and  the  higher  up  the  Arctic  pole  we  climb,  the  bigger  and 
more  insatiate  they  become.  "  In  fact,"  says  Schwatka, 
"  our  greatest  inconvenience  within  the  Arctic  circle  was 
the  tropical  heat  (July  29th)  and  the  dense  swarms  of  gnats 
and  mosquitoes  that  met  us  everywhere  when  we  approached 
the  land.  That  night  none  of  the  party  could  sleep  notwith- 
standing the  mosquito  bars  over  us."  But  our  summer 
saunterers  along  the  coast  will  have  none  of  these  ex- 
cruciating experiences.  There  are  no  pestiferous  insects 
to  be  dreaded,  for  every  blessed  breath  which  blows  from 
the  south  will  waft  them  inland,  over  the  hills  and  far 
away.  Seated  in  his  comfortable  easy  chair  on  deck,  while 
the  steamer  steadily  pursues  her  weaving  way  through  the 
clustering  islands,  each  happy  tourist  who  languidly  follows 
these  closing  lines  will  be  content  to  take  for  granted  the 
truth  of  what  they  say,  and  scarcely  incline  at  present  to 
push  the  matter  to  a  personal  inquiry. 


^S5^^^-;;i^-*5^%^^^£ 


SEAI.-SKJN    B1DARKA. 


HOME  OF  THE  SIWASH. 


From  the  broad  blue  waters  of  Puget  Sound  to  Bering 
Strait,  beyond  the  Aleutian  Isles,  the  high-prowed  gondo- 
las of  the  natives  are  ever  present.  Crossing  some  wind- 
swept sound  with  bellying  sails,  gliding  under  the  shadow 
of  bold  shores  or  drawn  high  and  dry  among  the  rocks 
before  some  temporary  camp,  they  animate  a  solitude  whose 
vast  loneliness  would  otherwise  be  wearisome,  despite  the 
exquisite  charms  of  the  natural  scenery.  Whenever  a 
steamer  comes  to  an  anchor,  no  matter  in  however  so 
sequestered  a  cove  or  fiord,  a  half  dozen  canoes  appear  as  if 
by  magic,  where  none  were  visible  before,  and  surround  the 
vessel,  eager  to  dispose  of  curios  to  the  passengers.  "Sitkum 
tolla  (half  a  dollar),  sitkum  tolla  !  "  pipes  the  shrill  treble  of 
the  klootchmen,  using  the  common  Chinook  vernacular,  as 
they  hold  up  to  view  their  baskets,  mats,  miniature  canoes, 
and  carved  spoons  made  from  the  horn  of  the  mountain  goat. 
"Sitkum  tolla  !  "  chimes  in  the  deeper  voice  of  the  stolid 
Siwash,  who  steadies  the  cranky  craft  with  his  paddle.  And 
one  of  the  smart  Alecks  among  the  passengers,  who  under- 
stands human  nature  better  than  Chinook,  yells  back  : 
"  Sixteen  dollars  be  hanged,  I'll  give  you  $2.50."  And  so 
the  trade  is  eagerly  made,  but  the  market  is  spoiled  for  the 
rest  of  the  passengers,  and  Aleck  enjoys  a  short-lived  tri- 
umph until  he  learns  true  wisdom  by  experience. 

As  ponies  are  to  the  plains  Indians,  so  are  canoes  to  the 
shore  dwellers  of  the  Pacific.  They  are  the  universal  vehicles 
of  locomotion  and  livelihood.  More  weatherly  craft  are 
not  found  anywhere  among  savage  or  civilized  peoples.  Be- 
yond the  limits  of  compact  populations  there  are  no  roads, 
excepting  foot  trails  over  the  mountains,  only  the  intermin- 
able waterways  through  archipelagoes  and  long  rivers  which 
penetrate  far  into  the  land  ;  and  the  Indian  who  wishes  to 
haul  freight  or  travel,  instead  of  hitching  up  his  team, 
simply  launches  his  canoe.  These  craft  are  of  several 
different  patterns,  but  the  distinctive  type  is  quite  like  a 
batteau  in  outline,  high  and  sharp  at  both  ends,  with  a 
broad  flare  and  an  inordinate  prolongation  of  prow,  which 


8o  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

is  often  ornamented  with  grotesque  carvings  of  nondescript 
creatures,  animals,  birds  or  fishes.  One  model  has  a  pro- 
jecting prow  or  beak  below  the  water-line,  precisely  like 
that  of  the  old  triremes  of  the  Romans  and  the  modern  ram 
of  our  war  ships.  There  is  another  pattern  similar  to  the 
common  Indian  birch  canoe.  Their  old-fashioned  war  ca- 
noes were  formidable  craft,  carrying  a  hundred  men,  and 
Alaskan  history  relates  how  a  fleet  of  ten  of  these  made  an 
expedition  of  1,000  miles  down  the  coast  to  one  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  posts,  in  the  early  days,  to  capture  a  man  against 
whom  they  had  a  grievance.  The  magnitude  of  their  naval 
demonstration  is  sufficient  evidence  of  their  inherent  nerve 
and  determination. 

Indian  trails  are  found  all  along  the  coast,  which  lead  up 
to  bodies  of  fine  timber  where  canoes  have  been  built,  and 
the  valuable  wood  otherwise  utilized  for  totem  poles  and 
for  carving  and  building  purposes.  Upon  some  of  these 
trails  much  labor  has  been  expended  in  bridging  ravines, 
corduroying  marshy  places,  and  cutting  through  trunks  of 
fallen  trees  no  less  than  six  feet  in  diameter.  Across  the 
mountain  ranges,  in  the  interior,  white  birch  grows  to  great 
size,  and  there  its  bark  is  substituted  for  the  cedar.  Dug- 
outs of  cottonwood  are  also  used  in  broken  water.  There 
are  no  skin  canoes  used  in  Alaska  south  of  Bering  Sea. 
The  largest  wooden  canoes  are  more  than  fifty  feet  long, 
capable  of  carrying  sixty  men,  hewn  from  great  cedar  logs 
with  much  labor,  being  dug  out  with  axes,  and  then  thinned 
with  adzes  to  the  required  thickness.  They  are  next 
steamed  by  filling  the  cavities  or  holes  with  water  heated 
by  hot  stones,  so  as  to  give  them  their  graceful  curves, 
after  which  they  are  spread  to  the  desired  width  and 
braced.  They  have  often  as  much  as  eight  feet  beam. 
Usually  they  are  painted  black  outside,  but  when  new 
they  often  show  quaint  decorations,  in  bright  colors, 
which,  however,  are  very  soon  lost  by  weathering.  The 
Indians  take  as  great  care  of  their  canoes  as  the  Arabs 
do  of  their  horses.  When  not  in  use  they  are  drawn 
up  on  sloping  beaches  in  front  of  their  villages  or 
camps,  and  carefully  covered  with  brush,  mats  or  sails  to 
protect  them  from  the  weather.  A  native  will  take  off 
his  own  coat  to  wrap  around  the  ornamental  prow  of  his 
boat,  which  is  as  much  as  he  would  do  for  his  "  klootch." 
The  best  of  the  canoes,  of  course,  cost  a  high  figure,  and 
great  pains  is  frequently  employed  in  clearing  away  bowlders 
and  rocks  to  provide  a  snug  berth  for  them  upon  the  beach. 
They  are  weatherly  craft  in  a  sea  way,  and  the  fact,  that  none 


HOME  OF  THE  SI  WASH.  81 

of  them  are  decked,  speaks  with  high  testimony  of  the 
habitually  quiet  moods  of  the  Pacific,  to  say  nothing  of 
skillful  seamanship.  The  native  Alaskan  is  seldom  wrecked 
or  drowned.  In  tempestuous  weather  he  propitiates  the 
spirit  of  the  storm  by  tossing  a  few  wads  of  tobacco  into  the 
rock  caves  alongshore,  and  in  calm  he  leisurely  stuffs  the 
same  into  his  pipe  and  smokes  serenely.  By  the  way,  these 
people  smoke  less  than  any  others  I  have  ever  met,  which  is 
a  fact  phenomenal.  One  seldom  sees  a  native  with  a  pipe  in 
his  mouth. 

In  the  dry  and  sunny  days  of  summer,  when  the  salmon 
are  running,  and  the  climate  is  uniform  perfection,  the  tem- 
perature scarcely  varying  ten  degrees  from  sun  to  sun  and 
month  to  month,  the  Siwash  locks  his  winter  cabin  and 
takes  his  "  klootch  "  and  fishing  outfit  to  some  choice  loca- 
tion where  he  can  catch  and  cure  a  supply  of  fish  for 
winter's  use;  and  as  the  natives  incline  to  be  gregarious  and 
combine  for  mutual  help  in  hauling  nets  and  hunting,  he 
usually  has  plenty  of  company.  Very  picturesque  are  their 
aggregations  of  canvas  tents  and  shanties  of  bark  and 
boards  which  skirt  the  shore  of  some  landlocked  cove  under 
the  shelter  of  some  circumjacent  forest  and  overshadowing 
mountain,  with  busy  canoes  plying  to  and  fro  with  the  seines, 
and  the  klootchmen  spreading  out  the  ruddy  salmon  on  the 
adjacent  rocks  to  dry.  "  Klootch,"  or  klootchman,  is 
synonym  for  woman  in  the  Chinook  lingo,  who  may  be  wife, 
concubine,  mistress,  or  actual  slave,  for  partnership  attach- 
ments are  not  always  fixed  by  formulas  of  marriage  in  that 
lone  country  ;  and  every  sojourner  has  his  "  klootch  "  in 
wedlock  or  otherwise,  who  acts  as  constant  housekeeper  or 
handmaiden.  In  the  same  vernacular  her  liege  is  known  as 
"  Siwash,"  which  is  a  corruption  of  the  French  word  sauvage, 
and  is  applied  to  the  male  sex  generally. 

A  queer  jargon  is  this  Chinook.  Once  upon  a  time, 
when  very  many  nations  were  represented  by  a  very  few  peo- 
ple in  that  vast  region  dominated  by  the  fur  companies,  em- 
bracing Oregon  and  Washington  Territories  and  all  the 
country  lying  to  the  northward  (the  French  perhaps  being 
numerically  the  strongest),  a  sort  of  congress  of  national 
representatives  formulated  this  universal  language  to 
facilitate  intercourse.  The  words  in  most  common  use 
were  adopted,  a  few  of  them  purely  native  dialect,  but 
a  very  large  proportion  bastard  French.  The  remainder 
are  simply  phonetic,  expressing,  when  pronounced,  the 
ideas  conveyed  by  the  sounds  ;  for  instance,  amusement 
is    "he-he"    rain   "patter-chuck"    a    crow    "caw-caw"    a 


82  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

cough  "  hoh-hoh,"  the  heart  "  turn-turn,"  a  handkerchief 
"  hak-at-chum"  etc.  There  are  about  five  hundred  and 
fifty  words  in  all,  and  with  this  limited  vocabulary  and 
the  use  of  signs,  a  man  can  travel  the  whole  North-west 
over  from  Central  Montana  to  Bering  Sea.  In  fact, 
Chinook  has  almost  superseded  the  native  dialects,  of  which 
there  are  no  less  than  ten  upon  the  coast,  and  perhaps  as 
many  more  in  the  interior.  The  different  tribes  seldom 
attempt  to  converse  in  each  other's  language.  There  are  a 
few  words  in  which  the  letter  "  1  "  is  substituted  for  "  r," 
Chinese  fashion,  indicating  possibly  an  ancient  Asiatic  con- 
nection  ;  for  most  of  such  words  are  appropriated  from  the 
native  tongues,  a  fact  which  no  doubt  must  be  gratifying 
to  those  who  claim  to  be  able  to  prove  that  the  Chinese  were 
the  earliest  discoverers  of  America. 

In  the  early  days  when  the  monotony  of  isolation  was 
varied  by  reprisals  among  the  tribes,  slaves  were  habitually 
made  by  the  victors,  and  I  have  heard  it  stated  by  white 
men  who  claim  to  have  been  residents  at  the  time,  and  cog- 
nizant of  the  circumstances,  that  the  Shimpshean  Indians, 
near  Dixon  Channel,  used  to  kill  and  eat  certain  parts  of 
their  prisoners,  taking  bites  from  the  fleshy  portions  of 
the  arm  and  breast  and  thigh  to  give  them  courage 
"  skookum  tum-tum."  Others  placed  the  necks  of  their 
captives  across  a  log,  fastening  the  bodies  to  the  ground  by 
saplings  weighted  with  stones  at  the  ends,  and  so  killed 
them  with  axes.  Slaves  were  often  killed  at  "  house- 
warmings,"  one  being  placed  under  each  of  the  corner  up- 
rights when  the  frame  was  raised,  the  ceremony  being 
sometimes  attended  with  the  greatest  cruelty.  With  a 
house  of  irregular  foundation  lines  the  sacrifice  of  life  was 
great.  One  occasionally  catches  accidental  glimpses  of 
old-time  war-implements  which  indicate  an  ancient  degree 
of  savagery  out  of  which  these  people  seem  to  have  long 
since  passed.  Slavery,  however,  continued  until  a  recent 
date,  and  even  now  a  sort  of  traffic  is  constantly  main- 
tained, whose  conditions  are  more  binding  than  the  obli- 
gations of  matrimony.  Women  often,  and  sometimes 
men,  are  traded  for  a  valuable  consideration,  or  thrown 
into  a  bargain  as  a  sort  of  rcmplisage — white  people  not 
seldom  being  the  purchasers ;  and  I  have  heai  d  that  those 
so  obtained  make  far  more  dutiful  servants  than  others 
who  farm  out  their  labor,  showing  conscientious  fidelity 
in  their  obligatory  relationship.  Some  of  the  old  settlers 
have  women  living  with  them  whose  legal  status  it  would 
be  difficult  to  determine,  but  so  it  is  in  all  the  wilderness 


HOME  OF  THE  SIWASH.  83 

domain  of  the  fur  companies,  the  number  of  the  half- 
breeds  in  the  North-west  being  counted  by  tens  of  thou- 
sands. On  the  Alaskan  coast  the  hybrid  product  of  a  na- 
tive crossed  with  a  Russian  is  designated  a  "Creole,"  as 
with  the  French  and  Spanish  mixtures  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  West  Indies. 

At  Kasaan  Bay  the  Indian  widow  of  old  Baronovick,  the 
Russian  smuggler,  was  living  in  1885,  with  a  goodly  heri- 
tage and  two  buxom  daughters,  which,  I  was  informed, 
were  at  disposal  for  the  moderate  sum  of  $4,000 — for  the 
lot !  The  girls,  as  I  saw  them,  seated  on  their  home-veran- 
da near  the  savory  salmon  cannery,  and  dressed  in  comely 
black  dresses  of  modern  mode,  were  not  bad  looking.  The 
young  women  of  the  coast  are  uniformly  comely,  but  their 
mouths  are  immense,  and  they  have  an  excess  of  adipose, 
which  grows  greasy  and  more  flabby  as  they  grow  older. 
They  are  very  partial  to  gaudy  frocks ;  but  the  prevailing 
costume  is  a  black  shawl  over  a  calico  skirt,  and  a  bright 
yellow  kerchief  over  the  head.  Very  often  they  blacken 
their  faces  with  deer  tallow  and  charcoal,  some  say  to  keep 
off  mosquitoes,  some  to  improve  their  complexions,  and 
others  to  hide  defects.  The  older  women  thrust  great  stone 
ornaments  into  their  pendulous  ears,  and  even  some  young 
women  use  a  lip  pin  of  silver,  steel,  or  bone,  which  they 
push  outward  through  the  flesh  from  the  inside  of  the  lower 
lip.  It  is  said  this  is  the  badge  of  wife-hood.  But  such 
fashions  are  not  pretty.  Like  many  of  their  discarded  cus- 
toms and  implements,  they  are  the  relics  of  a  barbarism 
which  passed  away  fully  two  generations  ago.  The  girls 
look  much  better,  according  to  modern  ideas,  in  their  silver 
bracelets  and  earrings,  and  the  marvel  is  how  so  great 
improvement  has  taken  place  in  so  comparatively  short  a 
time.  I  have  seen  some  of  the  gray-headed  old  folks  take 
from  their  capacious  chests  souvenirs,  such  as  medicine- 
rattles,  masks,  dance-blankets,  stone  war-clubs  and  idols  ; 
and  I  fancied  they  regarded  them  tenderly,  with  some 
lingering  regrets  of  the  old  time  ;  but  very  often  they  will 
part  with  these  readily  for  cash  to  the  curio-hunters,  who 
frequently  pay  most  exorbitant  prices.  Industry  is  one 
of  the  virtues  of  the  Alaskans.  When  the  men  are  not  en- 
gaged in  fishing  and  hunting,  or  employed  at  the  several 
canneries  on  the  coast,  they  build  canoes  and  houses,  pack 
goods  on  their  backs  over  the  mountains  to  the  mines,  and 
do  all  sorts  of  manual  labor.  They  are  very  powerful. 
The  regulation  pack-load  is  seventy-five  pounds.  With 
this  on  their  backs  they  will  keep  ahead  of  the  most  experi- 
enced mountain  climbers,  and  I  know  of  one  who  packed 


84  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

over  a  steep  new  trail,  which  was  hardly  more  than 
blazed  and  cleared,  a  load  of  125  pounds,  to-wit:  two  sacks 
of  flour,  a  shovel,  some  drills,  a  ten-pound  salmon,  and  his 
clothes  and  blankets.  They  do  tremendous  tasks  on  very 
short  commons,  but  when  they  do  get  afoul  of  a  full  kettle 
they  never  leave  it  while  there  is  a  mouthful  left.  In  camp 
they  are  splendid  attendants,  drying  wet  clothes,  cleaning 
guns,  cooking,  building  shelters,  and  doing  all  manner  of 
"  chores."  Once  I  followed  the  trail  six  miles  over  the 
mountain  from  Juneau  into  Silver  Bow  Basin,  and  was  as- 
tonished at  the  work  going  on  there  in  hydraulic  and  placer 
mining.  Sluices  were  built  or  dug  up  to  the  very  snow 
line,  and  ten-inch  iron  pipes,  as  well  as  every  other  article 
of  use  and  construction,  and  contents  of  dwellings  and  stores 
had  been  carried  there  upon  the  backs  of  Indians  at  one  cent 
a  pound  !  These  men  are  ambitious  to  earn  praise  and 
money,  and  are  not  mere  eye-servants.  The  women,  too, 
are  seldom  idle,  and  when  at  home  are  occupied  with  the 
needle,  or  with  braiding,  weaving,  basket-making  and  em- 
broidery. Dogs  are  always  members  of  the  household. 
They  are  civil  and  mild-mannered,  like  their  owners,  and  sel- 
dom bark.  In  the  winter  season  they  also  do  their  share 
of  appointed  work,  dragging  sleds  over  the  deep  snows  and 
freighting  goods  and  fuel  when  the  water  courses  are  frozen. 
They  are  of  the  true  Eskimo  type,  of  colors  brindle, 
white,  and  tawny ;  not  fierce  like  the  Labrador  dogs. 

However,  the  Indians  have  their  bad  traits  as  well  as  their 
good  ones.  In  trading  they  are  very  unscrupulous.  They 
will  take  a  mean  advantage  of  every  opportunity.  They 
will  not  abide  by  a  contract.  They  will  demand  back  what 
they  have  already  sold,  and  tell  you  that  their  "  klootch  " 
objects  to  the  trade.  Like  the  strikers  in  Belgium,  they 
put  their  women  in  front  when  they  would  shield  their  own 
craven  selves.  But  this  is  policy ;  for  they  well  know  the 
consideration  with  which  the  whites  regard  the  fair  sex. 
Indeed  they  are  themselves  quite  chivalrous  and  consider- 
ate toward  their  women,  imposing  upon  them  no  inequit- 
able burdens,  but  assuming  upon  themselves  those  heavier 
physical  tasks  which  eastern  squaws  are  obliged  to  perform 
unassisted  ;  even  declining  to  excel  them  in  the  emulous 
and  honorable  competition  of  a  canoe  race,  an  act  which 
they  declare  would  cover  them  with  everlasting  disgrace. 
But  it  may  be  that  the  women  wield  the  better  paddle. — 
"  Klaxta  kumtux  " — who  knows  ?  When  a  tribe  or  com- 
munity becomes  imbued  with  the  elements  of  politeness, 
which  is  refined  humanity,  there  is  indeed  hope  for  them. 


HOME  OF  THE  SI  WASH.  85 

Nevertheless,  they  are  arrogant  and  exacting  when  they 
have  the  upper  hand,  and  like  all  subordinates  must  be  kept 
in  their  lower  places.  Once  the  Chilkats  threatened  to  kill 
some  miners  who  wished  to  cross  the  mountains  over  to  the 
Yukon,  and  refused  to  pack  goods  for  them.  The  distance 
was  seventy  miles.  But  when  they  discovered  that  two  of 
the  miners  had  started  for  the  gunboat  for  assistance,  they 
wilted  at  once,  and  offered  to  take  the  party  over  for  noth- 
ing. The  moral  effect  of  the  gunboat  now  on  the  Alaska 
station  has  proved  most  potent  on  more  than  one  occasion. 
It  is  an  admirable  coadjutor  of  the  garrison,  as  occasion 
has  proved  more  than  once. 

The  typical  native  house  is  a  one-room  affair  built  of 
upright  split  slabs,  with  a  door-way  in  front  and  a  square 
hole  in  the  roof  for  the  passage  of  smoke.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  small  window  as  well.  The  bare  earth  is  the  floor 
and  a  goat-skin  or  a  bear-pelt  the  bed.  Dirt,  filth  and 
abundance  are  the  accessories.  The  walls  and  ceilings  are 
grimy  with  smoke  ;  the  pots  and  kettles  smeared  with  a 
conglomerate  of  grease  ;  nothing  seems  ever  to  have  been 
washed.  Every  thing  is  foul  and  squalid,  and  the  strips  of 
dried  meat  and  fish,  the  oil  bladders  and  pelts  hung  over 
the  low  rafters,  are  eloquent  of  degradation  in  the  midst  of 
plenty.  The  most  pretentious  houses  in  the  country,  with 
three  or  four  exceptions,  are  those  at  Wrangell,  some  of 
which  are  60x30  feet  in  dimensions,  one  story  high,  built  of 
logs,  planked  on  the  outside,  nicely  whitewashed,  with  gable 
roof  and  doors  and  windows.  They  never  have  chimneys. 
The  fire  is  built  in  the  center  of  the  smooth  earthen  floor, 
and  the  smoke  escapes  through  a  flat  cupola  in  the  roof. 
An  elaborately  carved  and  gaudily  painted  totem  pole  usu- 
ally ornaments  the  front.  Some  of  these  are  sixty  feet 
high.  They  are  popularly  supposed  to  have  some  religious 
significance,  but  are  for  the  most  part  pedigree  poles, 
illustrating  the  family  history  and  showing  the  family 
crest,  whether  it  be  bear,  beaver,  eagle,  shark,  whale,  wolf, 
frog  or  raven.  To  injure  one  was  to  insult  the  family  to 
which  it  belonged ;  to  cut  one  down,  an  unpardonable  of- 
fense. Incidentally,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  descent  is 
reckoned  through  the  female  line,  and  it  seems  to  prevail 
throughout  the  North  American  tribes,  a  custom  which  is 
probably  of  very  ancient  date.  These  totems  have  their 
counterpart  in  the  pictured  buffalo  robes  and  coup-sticks 
of  the  Indians  of  the  plains.  To  one  who  has  never  seen 
them  before  the  effect  is  most  startling.   One  writer  says : 

"Seen  in  the  wet,  gray  dawn  of  early  morning,  as  I  first 


86  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

saw  them,  they  have  a  most  weird  and  strange  appearance  ; 
for  the  ravens  which  are  carved  upon  them,  the  whales  and 
the  bears,  are  all  of  huge  proportions,  and  have  a  most 
melancholy  way  of  glaring  down  upon  all  who  stand  gaz- 
ing at  the  barbarous  relics."  One  pole  displays  an  ele- 
phant's head;  indicating  that  elephants  were  once  in- 
digenous. 

But  the  totem  poles  are  becoming  weather-beaten  and 
time-worn.  The  paint  is  nearly  off,  never  to  be  renewed, 
and  the  pride  of  ancestry  and  achievement,  as  manifested 
by  visible  testimony,  seems  to  have  vanished  with  the  pre- 
ceding generation.  In  many  cases  similar  devices  appear 
upon  the  tombs  of  the  dead.  Around  the  four  sides  of  the 
interior  of  these  houses  is  a  raised  platform  several  feet 
wide,  the  rear  portion  of  which,  opposite  the  entrance,  is 
partitioned  into  state  rooms  and  screened  by  curtains  of 
cotton  or  woolen  stuff.  On  either  side  of  these  sleeping 
apartments  are  slabs  of  heraldic  devices  fixed  to  the  walls. 
The  best  houses  have  modern  stoves,  furniture,  crockery 
and  kitchen  utensils,  and  are  very  clean  and  comfortable 
throughout.  There  is  always  a  variety  of  traps,  guns,  nets, 
fishing  implements,  harpoons,  spears,  decoys  for  catching 
seals  and  all  kinds  of  fur  animals,  birds  and  sea  fowl.  The 
families  have  ample  supplies  of  oil  suits,  rubber  boots, 
blankets,  miscellaneous  clothing,  and  even  ornaments.  No 
simple  people  were  ever  better  "  fixed  "  ;  and,  as  I  have 
stated,  their  capacity  for  improvement  and  adaptability  to 
new  and  better  methods  of  living  and  doing  is  very 
marked. 

If  some  master  of  the  aesthetic  school  could  only  instruct 
them  properly,  what  beautiful  designs  they  might  contrive 
in  mats  and  rugs  and  shells  and  carving,  and  how  hand- 
somely they  could  embellish  their  homes  !  They  have  not 
only  good  taste,  but  a  natural  genius  which  could  be  culti- 
vated to  marked  advantage.  Their  preference  for  the  gro- 
tesque manifests  itself  in  all  their  ornaments  and  imple- 
ments, their  cooking  utensils  and  their  costumes  ;  and 
there  is  scarcely  an  article  of  adornment,  use  or  wear 
which  is  not  elaborated  with  studies  in  natural  history,  some 
literal  and  others  fanciful  and  ridiculously  distorted.  A 
good  many  devices  are  simply  heraldic,  corresponding  to 
those  seen  on  their  totem  poles,  like  the  family  crests 
paraded  on  the  panels  and  dinner-service  of  people  in  a 
higher  state  of  civilization.  They  have  elaborate  chests 
and  boxes  of  red  and  yellow  cedar ;  spoons  and  dishes 
made  from  the  horns  of  the  mountain  goat  and  sheep,  set 
with  mother  of  pearl  obtained  from  the  shells  of  the  abe- 
lone  ;  trays  of  wood  and  stone  highly  polished  and  wrought 


INDIAN  CHIEFS  iHYAS-TYEE). 


HOME  OF  THE  SI  WASH.  89 

in  the  forms  of  frogs,  fishes  and  creatures  half-animal  and 
half-human  ;  fish-hooks,  harpoons  and  spears  of  wood, 
bone,  iron  and  copper,  all  ornamented  with  quaint  devices  ; 
masks  and  head-dresses  representing  all  the  monsters  of 
the  pliocene  period,  with  jaws  worked  by  mechanical  con- 
trivance;  blankets  woven  from  the  wool  of  goats  and  sheep 
in  allegorical  designs,  and  shirts  of  softest  buckskin,  beau- 
tifully painted  and  ornamented  with  bead-work.  They  are 
very  clever  in  contriving  pipes  of  old  gun-barrels,  and  also 
of  stone,  wood  and  bone,  inserting  into  the  bowls  of  the 
wooden  ones  the  brass  collar  of  a  kerosene  lamp  or  the 
slide  of  an  umbrella  to  serve  as  a  lining.  Formerly  they 
made  women's  skirts  of  cedar  bark  and  the  fiber  of  sea- 
kelp.  Some  of  their  manufactures  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  outside  capital,  and  there  are  firms  in  New 
York  and  San  Francisco  who  are  regularly  supplied  with 
basket  work  and  mats,  which  are  made  of  the  inner  bark  of 
roots  and  twigs  of  trees,  shredded,  dyed  and  plaited  by 
hand.  For  dyes  they  extract  the  colors  from  calico, 
blankets,  etc.,  and  produce  some  brilliant  hues,  but  they 
are  not  permanent.  However,  as  they  fade,  they  get  to 
resemble  more  and  more  the  India  and  Persian  colors,  and 
are  very  pleasing.  A  better  dye  of  black  and  yellow  was 
obtained  from  charcoal  and  a  species  of  moss  called  sekhone. 
Their  hats  made  of  plaited  roots  and  their  wicker  work  are 
skillfully  dyed  to  form  pretty  patterns.  As  silversmiths  they 
are  quite  expert,  making  attractive  bracelets  from  ham- 
mered coin,  so  attractive  that  the  native  market  is  kept  well 
supplied  by  counterfeits  shipped  from  San  Francisco 
makers,  which  sell  readily  to  tourists  at  $3.00  to  $5.00  per 
pair.  One  considerable  item  of  their  handiwork  is  the 
manufacture  of  wooden  decoys  representing  animals,  birds, 
seals,  etc.,  which  they  use  in  trapping  and  hunting.  They 
cover  bottles,  demijohns  and  carboys  with  exquisite  wicker 
work  ;  they  make  good  beds  from  moss,  caps  and  tobacco- 
pouches  of  furs  and  skins,  and  water-proof  bags  and 
pouches  from  the  intestines  of  animals.  Their  magicians' 
rattles  are  perhaps  the  most  elaborate  of  all  their  handi- 
work, being  made  hollow,  usually  in  the  form  of  a  strange 
bird  covered  all  over  with  carvings  of  strange  creatures 
and  human  deformities,  emblematic  of  the  mysteries  of 
their  profession.  They  will  trade  readily  for  any  thing  they 
take  a  fancy  to,  or  which  is  novel,  but  as  they  can  buy 
almost  any  thing  at  the  trading  stores,  they  usually  require 
silver  coin  to  complete  a  purchase. 

Finally  they  manufacture  a  beastly  intoxicating  liquor 


OUR  NEW  ALA  SKA. 

from   molasses,  called  Hoochinoo,  the  equal  of  which  for 
vileness  is  hard   to  find  anywhere  an 

Like  many  other  peopte  with  : more  jen^y  wh_ch 
inherent  passion  or  ^^>^J) Zy  o  bone  sticks 
^r^r^roraTencd,  ^h  cf  Le  L,  respective 
vahies  and  uses,  best  known  to  the  initiated. 


INDIAN    HOUSES  AT  WRANGELL. 


GOOD  INDIANS. 


The  cold-blooded  maxim  that  the  "  only  good  Indians  are 
dead  Indians  "  does  not  apply  to  the  natives  of  Alaska. 
Whatever  may  be  truly  or  erroneously  stated  of  the  tribes 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  has  small  significance  with 
respect  to  the  dwellers  on  the  west  side.  The  "great  con- 
tinental divide  "  seems  to  have  segregated  traits  and  char- 
acteristics as  effectually  as  it  has  separated  climates  and 
indigenous  products.  As  a  whole  the  Indians  of  Alaska, 
both  of  the  coast  and  of  the  interior,  as  far  as  known,  are 
normally  peaceable,  tractable,  intelligent,  clever,  eager  to 
learn,  useful,  and  industrious  to  a  degree  unknown  else- 
where among  the  aborigines  of  America.  The  general 
statement,  however,  is  subject  to  some  qualification,  inas- 
much as  there  are  a  good  many  different  tribes — ten  at  least 
on  the  coast,  and  perhaps  as  many  more  in  the  interior — 
who  are  manifestly  of  divers  origins,  and,  of  course,  differ 
variously  in  respect  to  the  meritorious  attributes  accorded 
to  them.  Some  are  very  slovenly  and  semi-barbarous,  while 
others  have  attained  a  degree  of  civilization  which  compares 
favorably  with  the  status  of  Caucasian  communities.  Vin- 
cent Colyer  said  :  "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  if  three- 
quarters  of  the  natives  of  Alaska  were  landed  in  New  York 
as  coming  from  Europe,  they  would  be  selected  as  among 
the  most  intelligent  of  the  many  worthy  emigrants  who  daily 
arrive  at  that  port.  In  two  years  they  would  be  admitted 
to  citizenship,  and  in  ten  years  some  of  their  children,  under 
the  civilizing  influence  of  our  eastern  public  schools,  would 
be  found  members  of  Congress."  The  great  majority  of  all 
the  people  dress  wholly  or  partially  in  the  costume  of  the 
whites,  and  in  the  towns,  where  there  are  shops  and  stores, 
the  women  affect  even  the  latest  procurable  fashions  in 
frocks  and  headgear.  In  complexion,  they  are  olive  rather 
than  red,  not  unlike  a  seafaring  man  or  a  worker  on  a  farm ; 
and  many  of  the  men  wear  beards.  The  Hon.  James  G.  Swan, 
correspondent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Port  Town- 
send,  Wash.,  who  has  made  a  special  study  of  Pacific  coast 
ethnology,  thinks  the  whole  population  up  to  the  Arctic 


92  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

belt  have  a  common  origin  among  the  Aztecs,  and  attempts 
to  establish  this  position  by  demonstrating  an  identity  of 
many  generic  words  common  to  both  languages,  and  by 
similarity  of  features,  implements,  handiwork,  carvings  and 
religious  emblems  and  ceremonies.  One  strong  corrobora- 
tive coincidence  rests  on  some  old-time  silver  idols,  which 
are  quite  identical  in  size,  feature,  and  figure  with  the  Chir- 
iqui  idols  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Capt.  Beardslee,  U. 
S.  N.,  who  has  likewise  carefully  investigated  the  subject, 
sustains  Mr.  Swan,  so  far  as  respects  the  tribe  of  Hydahs,  who 
are  exclusive  occupants  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  in  lati- 
tude 51  deg.,  but  regards  all  other  coast  tribes  as  of  Asiatic 
origin.  He  thinks  the  Hydahs  were  driven  north  by  Cortez 
during  the  Spanish  invasion.  Diametrically  opposite  is  Mr. 
Newton  H.  Crittenden,  in  the  West  Shore  Magazine  pub- 
lished at  Portland,  Or.,  who  infers  from  incidental  evidences 
that  the  Hydahs  are  castaways  from  Eastern  Asia,  who, 
first  reaching  the  islands  of  Southern  Alaska,  soon  took  and 
held  possession  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  group.  Mr.  Edward 
Vining,  in  his  new  book  entitled  "  The  Discovery  of  Amer- 
ica ;  or  the  Uncelebrated  Cojumbus,"  inclines  to  a  Chinese 
origin  and  reiterates  the  story  from  the  original  Chinese 
sources  of  the  landing  of  Hwin  Shin  and  a  party  of  Bud- 
dhist monks  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  about  the  year  500  a.d. 
The  spot  marked  out  is  about  20,000  Chinese  miles  east 
from  Kamtchatka.  There  is  also  a  record  that  the  indi- 
genous populations  reached  a  high  degree  of  civilization. 
The  houses  were  small,  and  of  wood  ;  stone  dwellings  were 
not  known.  The  people  knew  how  to  write,  and  used  a 
paper  made  from  cotton  wool.  They  wore  garments  of  fine 
linen.  There  was  no  iron,  but  copper,  gold,  and  silver 
existed  in  large  quantities.  Also  the  fact  is  on  record  of 
the  Spaniards  finding  at  Quivisa  the  wrecks  of  large  ships 
which  Mr.  Vining  feels  assured  were  of  Chinese  origin. 
The  Hurons  also  had  a  tradition  that  ages  ago  their  ances- 
tors were  visited  by  beardless  men  clad  in  silk  and  wearing 
pigtails. 

There  is  assuredly  a  strong  facial  resemblance  between 
the  Chinese  coolies  now  living  on  the  coast  and  some  of  the 
native  Indians.  They  seem  to  affiliate  naturally,  and  to 
have  some  few  words  of  common  derivation.  It  is  also  true 
that  there  are  Alaskan  words  of  Aztec  construction,  espe- 
cially those  having  the  terminal  "  tl"  and"xtl."  With 
regard  to  the  Hydahs,  they  certainly  have  a  remarkable 
physical  and  intellectual  superiority  over  all  the  other  Paci- 
fic coast  Indians,  while  marked  contrasts  in  the  structure  of 


GOOD  INDIANS.  93 

their  language  denote  a  different  origin  from  them.  They 
are  of  fine  stature,  with  exceptionally  well-developed  chests 
and  arms,  high  foreheads,  and  lighter  complexions  than  any 
other  North  American  Indians.  These  people  are  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  fish-oil  on  a  large  and  scientific  scale, 
and  they  have  a  Protestant  mission  and  trading  post.  It  is 
proper  to  state  that  this  tribe,  with  the  exception  of  small 
detachments,  is  attached  to  British  Columbia  and  not  to 
Alaska,  being  situated  a  short  distance  south  of  the  Alaska 
boundary  ;  and  it  is  equally  proper  to  credit  their  enviable 
condition  to  the  wise  policy  pursued  by  the  British  govern- 
ment in  cultivating  friendly  relations  with  them  and  educa- 
ting them  to  employments  suited  to  their  inclination  and 
tastes.  The  plan  of  the  British  government  has  been  never 
to  recognize  the  Indian  title,  but  certain  tracts  of  land  most 
prized  by  the  Indians  have  been  appropriated  to  their 
exclusive  use,  while  at  the  same  time  they  were  made  to 
understand  that  they  must  earn  their  own  living  the  same 
as  the  white  men  they  saw  around  them.  It  is  gratifying  to 
know  that  this  view  is  likely  to  obtain  with  us  henceforth, 
and  to  govern  our  own  policy  hereafter.  Yet  it  must  be 
allowed  that  the  Indian  problem  in  the  United  States  has 
been  more  difficult  to  manage  from  the  outset,  because  the 
Indians  were  vastly  more  numerous,  wilder,  and  subject  to 
food  conditions  which  made  them  constantly  nomadic,  in- 
stead of  communal  and  stationary.  On  the  Pacific  coast 
the  advent  of  the  white  man  has  never  diminished  the  food 
supply  of  the  natives.  They  have  fruit  and  game  as  before 
;.n  abundance,  and  more  fish  than  they  know  what  to  do 
with,  while  the  lessons  in  farming  which  have  been  taught 
them  have  given  them  a  source  of  food  supply  and  variety 
which  they  were  previously  ignorant  of  ;  so  that  they  have 
never  been  compelled  by  starvation  to  make  reprisals,  like 
the  transmontane  plains  Indians,  to  whom  the  buffalo  in  its 
prime  supplied  houses,  fuel,  food,  clothes  and  utensils  all  at 
once.  To  the  latter  the  extinction  of  the  animals  was  like 
cutting  down  the  palm  trees  to  the  South  Sea  Islanders  ; 
and  the  shifts  to  which  they  have  been  forced  in  conse- 
quence are  what  is  subduing  them  to  the  methods  of  those 
who  toil  for  bread. 

In  writing  of  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific  coast,  it  is  not 
easy  to  segregate  the  tribes  of  Alaska  as  distinct  from  most 
of  the  others,  for  all  of  them  have  many  traits,  customs, 
peculiarities  and  occupations  in  common,  and  some  are 
intermixed  by  marriage.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  our  new  possession  are  much  more  degraded 


94  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

and  generally  demoralized  than  those  of  British  Columbia, 
whatever  they  may  have  been  under  the  Muscovite  occu- 
pation. Dawson's  book,  entitled  "Indian  Tribes  of  British 
Columbia,"  gives  a  very  correct  idea  of  the  present  status 
of  the  British  Indians.  While  the  Russians  held  possession 
of  Alaska  they  also  exercised  a  conservative  and  fostering 
care  over  their  wards  under  a  similar  policy  and  system ; 
but  after  the  American  succession  the  Indians  were  left 
without  visible  restraint  or  guidance,  and  their  course  was 
miserably  downwards;  just  an  example  of  how  people, 
no  matter  how  refined  their  origin,  will  eventually  degen- 
erate and  actually  revert  to  a  savage  state  if  segregated 
for  a  long  period  from  the  influences  of  civilization.  This 
fact  is  especially  illustrated  in  the  case  of  our  nomadic 
Plains  Indians  who  occupied  the  buffalo  ranges  in  the 
days  when  meat  was  running,  and  who  migrated  from  the 
Southwest  upon  the  advent  of  the  Spanish  conquistador, 
Coronado,  and  became  hunters  what  time  he  introduced 
horses.  Among  the  liberated  slaves  of  our  Southern 
States  in  known  cases  the  third  generation  has  lapsed  into 
a  degree  of  barbarity  equal  to  that  of  their  Congo  and 
Guinea  ancestors  in  Africa. 

For  a  long  time  after  the  American  succession  they  main- 
tained a  hostile  and  often  aggressive  attitude.  With  all 
moral  support  and  conserving  influences  withdrawn,  they 
relapsed  into  partial  savagery.  For  many  years  there  was 
no  civil  government  whatever  in  the  territory.  The 
"  Shamans "  or  native  magicians  began  to  regain  their 
ascendency  over  the  people.  The  garrisons  stationed  at 
Sitka  and  Wrangell  kept  perpetually  drunk  on  home-made 
hoochinoo  ;  they  debauched  the  women  and  quarreled  with 
the  men.  All  industries  along  the  coast  were  paralyzed. 
No  business  was  done.  There  were  none  to  buy  the  furs 
which  the  hunters  had  trapped  and  collected,  and  utter  ruin 
seemed  inevitable.  At  present,  however,  thanks  to  a  com- 
bination of  wise  measures  and  ameliorating  influences  which 
have  extended  over  three  decades,  the  country  has  settled 
into  serenity  of  hope,  and  good  order  everywhere  pre- 
vails. The  Indians  are  hostile  no  more.  They  have 
pledged  themselves  to  perpetual  amity  ;  a  consummation 
chiefly  effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  wau-wau, 
or  conference  held  with  the  hyas-joint  or  grand  commission 
of  1880,  at  which  the  first  condition  imposed  by  the  Indians 
was  "  teachers,  so  that  our  children  may  not  grow  up  stupid 
like  their  fathers  !  "  In  one  brief  hour  of  conviction  they 
spontaneously  abandoned  the  traditions  of  the  past  and 
never  looked  back  to  the  flesh-pots  of  barbarism.     They 


GOOD  INDIANS.  95' 

were  willing  and  ready  to  accept  the  new  dispensation,  to 
live  by  it,  and  to  qualify  themselves  to  promote  it.  All  they 
wanted  was,  to  receive  it  undefiled.  These  Indians  have 
sagaciously  forecast  their  approaching  opportunity,  and 
all  look  for  the  advent  of  commercial  ventures  with  eager 
longing  and  open  hands  ready  for  employment.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  red  men  were  in  advance  of  the  philanthro- 
pists. All  they  want  is  a  clean  deal,  and  it  is  the  fault  of 
the  government  if  it  does  not  step  in  and  occupy  a  field  so 
nearly  ripe  for  the  harvest.  The  resources  of  Alaska  are 
now  known  to  be  varied  and  rich  enough  to  tempt  invest- 
ment. The  outlook  is  propitious,  and  the  natives  will  aid 
us  in  every  way  to  find  out  all  there  is  to  know  about  the 
country. 

The  history  of  this  palaver  by  which  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  country  may  be  said  to  have  been  conciliated  at 
one  diplomatic  stroke,  is  interesting  if  not  remarkable,  inas- 
much as  the  key  of  the  situation  came  to  hand  at  the  very 
outset.  It  seems  that  a  domestic  quarrel  was  on  the  eve  of 
an  outbreak  between  the  Chilkats  and  Chilkoots  in  conse- 
quence of  a  drunken  brawl  the  previous  summer,  at  which 
blood  was  shed,  and  which  could  only  be  expiated  by  a 
requital  in  kind,  or  its  equivalent  in  blankets  ;  and  as  the 
Chilkats  did  not  consider  the  dead  Chilkoot  worth  quite 
one  hundred  blankets  (say  $400),  the  usual  "  potlatch  " 
preliminary  to  a  war  was  in  progress  at  the  date  of  the  pro- 
posed "  wau-wau "  (Aug.  24,  1880),  at  which  fully  three 
thousand  Indians  were  estimated  to  be  present.  The  object 
of  the  "  wau-wau,"  or  conference,  to  which  the  contestants 
were  peremptorily  invited  by  the  naval  commandant  of  the 
Alaska  station,  backed  by  a  persuasive  gun-boat,  was  to 
settle  the  difficulty  without  war,  and  to  re-establish  peace. 
Now,  nearly  all  of  the  Indians  of  Alaska  are,  according  to 
tradition,  descended  from  the  Chilkats,  and  among  these 
descendants  are  the  Chilkoots,  who  have  largely  inter-mar- 
ried with  them.  The  villages  of  the  two  tribes  are  about 
thirty  miles  distant  from  each  other,  situated  well  up  the 
rivers,  one  of  which,  the  Chilkat,  flowing  southeast,  and  the 
other  southwest,  converge  to  the  head  of  a  narrow  peninsula 
which  divides  the  upper  end  of  Chatham  Straits  into  two 
bays.  There  is  a  trail  and  portage  across  this  peninsula, 
and  at  the  lower  Chilkat  village  on  the  west  side,  and  at 
Portage  Bay  on  the  east,  the  two  tribes  used  to  meet  to 
trade  when  in  harmony.  At  Portage  Bay  the  post  agent 
is  in  the  confidence  of  the  two.  The  Chilkats  are  the  most 
powerful  and  warlike  of  all  the  tribes,  and  as  they  have 


g6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

always  dominated  the  trade  with  the  interior  tribes,  it  is 
obvious  that  a  maintenance  of  friendship  and  amicable 
intercourse  with  them  was  all  important  to  secure  the  pro- 
tection of  such  whites  as  were  prospecting  in  the  far-off 
interior,  as  well  as  to  conserve  the  future  welfare  of  the 
entire  territory.  The  happy  result  of  the  conference  is 
thus  related  in  Capt.  Beardslee's  own  written  account, 
addressed  to  the  author  of  this  book  at  the  date  of  the 
occurrence.  The  vessel  which  did  duty  on  the  momentous 
occasion  was  the  North  west  Trading  Company's  tug-boat, 
"  Favorite,"  with  a  howitzer  in  the  bow  and  a  gatling 
mounted  on  the  upper  deck.  The  regular  naval  coast 
detail,  the  "  Jamestown,"  lay  in  Sitka  harbor.     I  quote  : 

Pyramid  Harbor,  August  25. 

"  That  you  get  this  letter  may  be  a  sign  and  token  to  you 
that  success  has  crowned  our  efforts.  I  gave  in  yesterday 
afternoon,  too  restless  to  continue  my  summing  up,  and  in 
spite  of  my  prudent  resolution  donned  my  shooting  habili- 
ments and  started  across  the  trail.  About  half  way  over  I 
met  in  single  file,  first  Pierre  Errassan,  who,  with  his  hand- 
some six  feet  of  figure  arrayed  in  red  shirt,  leggins,  and  well 
revolvered,  would  have  made  a  capital  robber  in  Fra 
Diavolo  ;  and  behind  him  five  Indians,  the  foremost  of 
whom  I  at  once  recognized  by  descriptions  I  had  had  as 
Klotz-Klotz,  the  chief  of  the  Chilkats,  a  tall,  well-built,  dig- 
nified old  fellow,  from  whose  good  looks,  however,  a  wad 
of  cotton,  stuffed  into  a  hole  in  his  left  cheek,  somewhat 
detracted.  From  this  hole,  caused  by  a  gun-shot  wound, 
one  of  his  sobriquets,  "  Hole-in-the-Cheek,"  has  been 
derived.  With  him  was  another  veteran,  almost  equally 
powerful  with  himself  and  much  older,  Klotz  being  about 
sixty  and  Kak-na-tay  about  seventy  or  more.  Both  wel- 
comed me  most  heartily,  for  in  spite  of  my  decidedly  unmil- 
itary  rig,  Errassan,  with  true  shrewdness  and  French  polite- 
ness combined,  drew  himself  stiffly  up  as  we  neared  each 
other,  and  making  to  me  the  most  profound  obeisance, 
omitted  to  offer  me  his  hand,  thus  paying  tribute  to  my 
greatness,  which  was  his  trump  card  with  the  Indians,  and 
most  gracefully  and  solemnly  introduced  me. 

"  The  costume  of  Klotz  and  Kak  was  not  so  gorgeous  as 
to  add  to  my  discomfiture,  as  both  they  and  their  attend- 
ants were  arrayed  in  blankets  and  leggins ;  but  in  a  big  box 
carried  by  the  latter  was  the  wardrobe,  in  which  he  had 
expected  to  astonish  and  impress  me.  The  retainers  were 
in  war  paint,  with  cotton  or  down  on  their  heads,   which 


GOOD  INDIANS.  97 

indicated    determination.     Thus   stripped   of  all   external 
show  of  power,  the  old  chief  and  I  sat  down  under  a  great 
cedar  tree  and  discussed  the  situation.     I   think  that  this 
meeting  was  a  fortunate  one,  for  I  had  with  me  cigars  and 
a  breech-loader,  the  free  use  of  both  of  which  I  at   once 
accorded;  and  the  influence  of  a  large  meerschaum   pipe, 
which  some  months  ago  I  sent  him  as   a   present,    had   its 
weight.     After  all,  if  the  true  history  of  wars  and  diplomacy 
could  be  written,  how  many  times  such  little  matters  have 
had  more  weight  than  elaborate  speeches,  convincing  only 
their  utterer.     Free  from  disturbing  influences,  Klotz-Klotz 
unbosomed  himself,  and  during  that  interview  he  admitted 
to  me  that  his  family  was  in  the  wrong,  and  that  he  would 
willingly  assist  in  establishing  peace.     He  claimed  that  the 
killed  Chilkoot  was  not  worth  a  hundred  blankets,  but  that 
he  would  pay  two  hundred  if  no  less  would  heal  the  breach. 
"  The  post  trader  made  Klotz  &  Co.  comfortable  for  the 
night,    and  this  morning  about  ten  o'clock  several  large 
canoes,  with  flags  flying,  drums  (Indian  drums)  beating,  and 
propelled  by  about  a  dozen  painted  paddlers,   each   came 
around  the  point  of  Chilkoot  Inlet  and  were  shortly  along- 
side.    In  the  foremost  was  Danawah,  the  chief  of  the  lower 
village,  and  a  blind  old  Shaman,  who  is  chief  of  the  Chil- 
koots.     They  were  directed  to  go  ashore  to  the  post  trader's, 
to  wait  until  the  firing  of  a  gun  announced  the  readiness  of 
the  Tyhees  to  receive  them.     They  refused  to  go  to  the 
trader's,  because  the  Chilkats,  their  enemies,  were  there, 
but  instead  paddled  in  to  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  where  on 
the  beach  they  prepared  and  ate  their  meal  and  donned 
their    pow-wow  garments.     At   n   the  sharp  bark  of  the 
howitzer  summoned  them  to  the  meeting,  and  both   parties 
came  alongside  on  different  sides  of  the  boat,  and  avoiding 
all  intercourse  with  each  other".     When  duly  seated  in  the 
cabin  they  presented  a  not  undignified  appearance.     All 
wore  good  American  clothes,  of  which  the  coats  were  orna- 
mented  with  more   or   less   insignia  of   various  ranks   of 
American  and   English  officers  of  both   army   and   navy, 
white  shirts  and  shoes  and  stockings.     On  our  side  of  the 
table,  epaulets  and  full  dress  undoubtedly  produced  good 
effect.     The  interview  lasted  two  hours,  and   during  it  the 
whole  difficulty  was  adjusted,  and  when  we  left  the  stifling 
atmosphere  of  the  cabin — for  Indians  even  of  high  rank  are 
odorous — for  the  upper  deck  we  were  a  party  of  friends  all 
under  pledges  for  mutual  benefit.     Mine  to  them  was,  in 
answer  to  the  request  of  both  parties,  'Yes;   I  will  do  my 
utmost  to  assist  you  in  this  matter,'  which  matter  was  this  : 


98  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

"  When  you  go  to  your  country  please  tell  them  to  send 
teachers  to  us  as  well  as  to  the  Stickeens,  so  that  our  chil- 
dren may  not  grow  up  stupid  like  their  fathers."  (The 
Stickeens  are  the  Indians  at  Wrangell,  where  the  Presby- 
terians have  established  a  mission  school  which  is  doing 
much  good.)  I  believe  that  they  will  keep  their  promises 
to  treat  well  all  white  men  coming  to  their  country,  and  I 
know  I  will  mine,  and  through  you  I  now  ask  of  any  Chris- 
tians you  may  have  among  your  readers — and  I  doubt  not 
that  such  there  are — to  send  to  the  missionary  at  Sitka,  such 
articles  as  will  be  useful  to  the  school  which  Mrs.  Dickson, 
the  wife  of  the  post  trader,  has  started  on  her  own  hook, 
and  at  which  half  a  hundred  children  are  being  taught,  and 
which  is  soon  to  be  transferred  to  a  neat  frame  building, 
which,  designed  for  a  store  at  Taku,  has  been,  by  Capt. 
Vanderbilt,  given  to  the  Indians  at  Portage  Bay,  and  on 
each  side  of  which  building  the  Chilkats  and  Chilkoots,  now 
re-united,  promise  to  build  villages  so  that  their  children 
may  attend  the  schools. 

"  The  Indians  were  entertained  by  a  few  shots  fired  from 
the  howitzer,  and  more  by  several  volleys  from  the  gatling 
which  was  mounted  aft,  and  which  was  made  to  sweep  an 
arc  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  degrees,  at  good  canoe  dis- 
tance. 

"Then  they  paddled  ashore  in  company,  lit  a  camp  fire, 
and  began  a  friendly  potlatch  on  the  beach,  and  we,  satisfied 
with  the  day's  work,  started  at  3  P.  M.  for  home,  as  we  have 
learned  to  consider  Sitka,  and  are  now  anchored  in  a  snug 
harbor  for  the  night. 

"  Yours  &c,         L.  A.  B." 

"  Potlatch  "  is  a  term  of  varying  significance  applied  to 
any  assemblage,  for  whatsoever  purpose,  at  which  good 
cheer  is  provided.  Sometimes  a  native  will  invite  his 
friends  to  a  house-raising  and  give  away  more  grub  and 
blankets  than  ten  such  houses  would  cost  to  build.  Pot- 
latches  are  given  at  the  outset  of  great  undertakings,  and  in 
commemoration  of  the  same.  In  its  primary  sense  a  pot- 
latch is  a  gift.  In  its  expression,  as  an  economic,  or  social, 
or  moral  force,  it  amplifies  the  uses  and  applications  of  the 
customary  tobacco  pipe  in  all  grave  affairs  of  red-men.  It 
is  preliminary  to  weighty  councils,  social  entertainments, 
business  undertakings,  unexpected  meetings  of  old  or  new 
friends,  family  reunions,  celebrations,  special  observances, 
obsequies,  etc.  When  grave  complications  threaten,  and 
diplomacy  is  invoked,  arguments  are  invariably  re-enforced 


GOOD  INDIANS.  99 

by  a  war  dance,  or  a  series  of  dances,  in  the  course  of  which 
the  jarring  factions  who  have  met  together  to  investigate 
and  settle  their  differences  (peaceably,  or  by  arms,)  endeavor 
to  impress  and  intimidate  each  other  by  extravagant  dis- 
plays of  costume,  menacing  attitudes,  hideous  noises, 
uncompromising  yells,  consummate  braggadocio,  and 
illustrations  of  prowess  and  muscular  science  in  pantomime, 
so  that  peradventure,  each  other's  opponent  may  weaken 
before  he  ventures  upon  hostilities,  or  at  least  be  timorous 
on  the  field  of  battle.  The  full  significance  of  these 
methods  is  presumably  understood  by  the  present  genera- 
tion of  natives,  though  the  young  men  do  not  appear  to  be 
well  posted  in  the  formula,  seeming  to  regard  the  whole 
demonstration  as  a  noisy  farce  ;  and  it  is  seldom  nowadays 
that  young  or  old  can  be  induced  to  illustrate  the  nearly 
obsolete  customs  of  their  forefathers,  an  exhibition  of 
which  is  apparently  regarded  with  some  such  mixed  interest 
as  "  ye  old  folks'  concerts "  of  their  progressive  white 
brethren.  However,  for  a  few  dollars  contributed  by 
inquisitive  spectators  or  tourists  they  can  usually  be  per- 
suaded to  do  the  proper  thing,  and  it  has  got  to  be  quite 
the  fashion,  within  the  past  few  years,  for  excursionists  to 
drum  up  some  recruits  from  the  Indian  "  ranche"  at  Sitka 
to  give  a  war  dance,  or  some  other  dance,  on  the  parade 
ground,  although  such  improvisations  are  obviously  not  as 
striking  as  the  bona-fide  demonstrations  held  at  the  Chilkat 
potlatch  in  1880.  The  form  is  to  build  a  huge  bonfire  in 
the  center  of  the  plaza,  and  after  a  sufficient  time  for  suita- 
ble preparation,  the  maskers  appear,  marching  in  from  the 
Indian  quarter  through  the  gate  of  the  old  Russian  stock- 
ade, in  full  panoply  of  buckskin,  paint  and  feathers, 
singing  in  a  wild  weird  monotone  which  has  a  swinging 
cadence  or  rhythm  that  is  quite  infectious,  and  while  the 
glow  of  the  bonfire  lights  up  their  painted  faces  and  fantas- 
tic toggery  with  the  lurid  tinge  of  Tophet,  all  the  by- 
standers catch  the  inspiration  and  join  the  chant  with  sway- 
ing bodies  and  ever  kindling  fervor.  It  is  much  like  the 
regulation  Indian  dance  which  most  eastern  readers  have 
witnessed  at  the  "  Wild  West  Show  "  of  Buffalo  Bill  in 
these  later  days — chiefly  mechanical  posturing  and  posing, 
with  wild  gestures  and  much  brandishing  of  weapons — 
only  that  the  Alaska  natives  do  not  pass  and  chassez  around 
the  fire,  but  dance  in  a  single  row,  all  on  one  side,  like  so 
many  jacks-in-the  box.  Neither  their  performance  nor  their 
costumes  begin  to  compare  with  what  I  have  seen  among 
the  Mountain  Crows  and  Sioux.     Most  of  them  had  their 


ioo  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

faces  painted  red  with  dashes  of  black,  chiefly  on  one  side, 
and  they  wore  preposterous  head-dresses  of  cotton  waste  and 
goat  horns,  and  fantastic  ornaments  that  dangled,  feathers 
which  wabbled,  and  bits  of  metal  that  made  a  tinkling 
noise.  Some  wore  their  blankets,  and  others  more  meager 
costumes,  with  bodies  daubed.  The  women  bound  their 
silver  bracelets  about  their  heads,  spread  wide  open  in 
crescent  form,  like  the  characters  in  old  mythology,  and 
the  firelight  glistened  on  their  polished  points  like  scintilla- 
tions from  the  moon  ;  but  a  pervading  odor,  whose  origin 
was  familiar  and  unmistakable,  added  a  substantial  realism 
to  the  scene. 

There  are,  perhaps,  thirty  thousand  Indians  in  Alaska — 
though  this  estimate  is  based  solely  upon  the  number  of 
tribes  or  bands  known  to  the  trading  posts  on  the  coast 
and  in  the  interior  ;  and  they  are  not  only  expert  in  their 
natural  gifts  of  hunting,  trapping  and  fishing,  but  they  are 
splendid  navigators  and  seamen,  and  will  make  good  sol- 
diers, surveyors,  coast  guards  and  policemen.  They  are 
very  efficient  help  in  the  salmon  canneries  and  oil  factories, 
and  they  make  good  mill  men,  miners  and  agriculturists. 

That  Indians  will  become  farmers  when  it  is  made  worth 
while,  is  shown  in  an  appendix  to  General  Crook's  report, 
whence  it  appears  that  during  1885  the  White  Mountain 
tribes  of  Arizona  had  2,120  acres  of  land  under  cultivation, 
raised  80,000  pounds  of  barley,  and  3,500,000  pounds  of 
corn.  They  sold  to  the  government  700,000  pounds  of 
hay  and  thirty-two  tons  of  barley,  and  had  1,000,000  pounds 
of  hay  awaiting  the  quartermaster's  order.  These  Alaskans 
are  natural-born  carpenters  and  workers  in  wood.  Some  of 
their  carving  on  wood,  bone,  stone  and  metal  is  exquisite, 
and  always  original  and  unique.  Their  permanent  nouses 
are  one-story  and  occasionally  two-story  frame  buildings, 
and  many  of  them  have  two  or  more  windows  fitted  with 
sash  and  glass.  The  women  weave  beautiful  cloth  and 
blankets  from  the  fleece  of  the  mountain  goat  ;  they  sew 
very  deftly,  embroider,  weave  hats,  mats  and  baskets,  and 
make  fishermen's  nets.  They  also  make  waterproof  cloth- 
ing from  the  intestines  of  the  moose,  bear  and  sea  lion. 
There  are  also  among  them  regular  artificers  in  metals, 
jewelers,  who  manufacture  the  silver  rings,  bracelets  and 
lip  ornaments  which  are  so  common  among  themselves.  If 
a  dollar  ever  comes  into  their  possession,  it  is  hammered  out 
at  once  into  ornaments.  It  never  goes  back  to  the  United 
States  Treasury.  Oh,  that  all  the  silver  dollars  could  be 
sent  to  Alaska  ! 


GOOD  INDIANS.  IOi 

There  are  already  industrial  schools  at  Sitka,  Wrangell 
and  Juneau,  with  apt  pupils  aggregating  several  hun- 
dreds, and  lesser  communities  elsewhere,  at  all  of  which 
native  men  and  women  are  employed  in  every  sort  of  out- 
of-door  and  household  capacity,  so  that  their  versatility, 
industry  and  ingenuity  have  been  fully  tested.  In  British 
Columbia  the  Indians  derive  a  considerable  income  from 
their  labors  in  various  occupations,  and  it  has  been  de- 
clared that  but  for  their  aid  several  flourishing  industries 
would  cease  to  exist,  or,  at  least,  labor  under  serious  dis- 
advantages. The  inner  life  of  the  Alaskan  natives  is  ex- 
tremely interesting  to  the  visitor.  There  is  every  encour- 
agement to  hope  for  their  complete  absorption  into  civili- 
zation. 


THE  MISSION  FIELD. 


Alaska  owes  its  otology,  its  autonomy,  its  prosperity, 
its  good  order,  and  the  civilization  and  thrift  of  its  na- 
tives collectively  to  Capts.  Beardslee  and  Glass,  U.  S.  N. ; 
Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  who  has  been  styled  the  "apostle 
of  Alaska"  and  the  "Alaska  Moses";  Capt.  Healy,  of  the 
revenue  cutter  "Bear";  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland,  and  Rev. 
John  G.  Brady,  all  pioneers  soon  after  the  cession.  Alex 
Choquette,  Tom  Haley,  King  Lear,  Capt.  George,  and 
those  other  oldtimers  of  an  earlier  and  fateful  period 
played  their  individual  parts  all  right,  too,  but  they  were 
not  the  true  vitalizing  force  which  laid  out  the  working 
plan  of  the  Arctic  Province  and  set  its  machinery  in  mo- 
tion ;  Sheldon  Jackson  was.  His  eleemosynary  and  exec- 
utive work  in  Alaska  was  absolutely  the  chief  corner- 
stone of  its  Christian  civilization  and  good  order,  as 
well  as  the  salvation  of  the  natives,  body  and  soul,  and 
in  more  recent  years  the  helpful  promoter  of  material 
comfort  and  commercial  dispatch  (by  his  reindeer 
scheme)  in  the  rigorous  sub-Arctic  winters.  Capt. 
Beardslee  held  down  the  Purchase  under  his  guns  for 
three  years  (1879-80),  and  was  followed  by  Command- 
ers Henry  Glass  and  Edward  P.  Lull  at  intervals  until 
Jan.  10,  1882,  each  of  them  rendering  efficient  service 
in  many  a  critical  emergency.  Capt.  Healy,  for  ten  years, 
was  an  ever-present  help  in  time  of  need  when  the  ice 
blockade  was  on.  Rev.  Brady  played  an  heroic  Aaron  to 
Jackson's  Moses,  and  Mrs.  McFarland  stayed  up  the 
hands  and  stiffened  the  backbone  of  the  others.  She 
was  the  trained  nurse  for  the  bantling  in  arms.  For 
twenty-five  years  past  Mr.  Jackson  has  filled  the  difficult 
and  not  altogether  attractive  position  of  general  agent  of 
the  U.  S.  Board  of  Education  for  Alaska  with  its  multi- 
farious duties,  requiring  a  stout  heart,  a  tough  constitu- 
tion, and  a  resourceful  tact.     His  record  is  before  the 


SHELDON    JACKSON 


THE   MISSION  FIELD. 


103 


world  in  a  score  of  annual  reports,  printed  books  and 
monographs.  His  biography,  written  by  Rev.  Robert  L. 
Stewart,  D.  D.,  was  issued  in  September,  1908,  from  the 
press  of  Revell  &  Co.,  New  York,  under  the  title,  "Shel- 
don Jackson,  Pathfinder  and  Prospector  of  the  Mission- 
ary Vanguard  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Alaska." 

But  his  work  in  Alaska  is  only  the  half  of  a  lifelong 
service  for  the  betterment  of  men.  For  a  quarter  of  a 
century  he  was  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  the  making  of 
the  "New  West."  Keeping  pace  with  the  new  settlers 
pouring  into  the  farming  regions,  camping  with  the  pio- 
neers who  laid  out  new  railway  centres,  scaling  the 
mountains,  and  penetrating  the  canons  with  the  pros- 
pectors and  miners,  he  everywhere  rallied  around  him 
the  friends  of  order  and  religion,  of  schools  and  tem- 
perance, of  Sabbath  observance  and  good  citizenship. 
While  public  sentiment  was  still  plastic  he  shaped  it  for 
weal  and  for  civic  righteousness,  and  left  his  impress 
upon  that  half  of  the  United  States  which  lies  west  of 
the  Mississippi  river.  From  1869  to  1903  he  traveled 
from  17,000  to  30,000  miles  a  year — on  foot,  horseback, 
by  buckboard  and  army  ambulance,  stage  and  railway, 
steamship  and  canoe,  revenue  cutters  and  naval  vessels. 

In  the  Alaska  Mission  field  signal  success  has  attended 
his  tactful  apportionment  of  its  precincts  among  the 
dozen  religious  denominations  engaged  there,  the  idea 
and  purpose  being  to  prevent  the  simple  pagan  mind 
from  being  phased  by  the  many  different  forms  of  relig- 
ious work  in  vogue  among  civilized  people.  Accordingly, 
the  Presbyterians  who  were  already  established  in  South- 
eastern Alaska  took  that  section,  where  they  had  in  1907 
four  churches  for  whites,  and  for  natives  32  missionaries 
and  teachers,  an  industrial  school  with  164  uniformed 
pupils.,  a  hospital,  12  churches  with  982  native  communi- 
cants, and  25  preaching  stations,  influencing  some  5,000 
natives.  The  Baptists  operate  at  Kadiak  and  the  regions 
around  Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  William  Sound,  600  miles 
west,  where  they  have  churches  and  mission  stations,  an 
orphanage,  with  46  pupils,  with  an  experimental  farm 
of  sixteen  acres  attached;  a  fishing  station,  a  dairy,  a 
poultry  yard,  and  other  industrial  plants.  The  Metho- 
dists occupy  the  Shumagin  and  Aleutian  Islands  and  the 
Aleutian  Peninsula.  They  have  six  stations  for  whites, 
two  local  preachers,  and  two  missions  for  natives  and  an 


104 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


Industrial  Home  at  Unalaska.  The  Aleuts  are  practically 
civilized.  They  live  like  white  folks,  and  study  the  latest 
fashion  plates.  The  Moravians  hold  to  the  valleys  of  the 
Nushagak  and  Kushokwim,  having  24  missionaries,  8  na- 
tive helpers,  with  75  native  communicants  and  860  native 
adherents.  The  Swedes  hold  to  Norton  Sound.  They 
have  nine  white  missionaries  and  nine  native  assistants, 
and  a  membership  of  about  500;  also  a  mission  school. 
The  Norwegians  use  around  Port  Clarence,  the  Friends, 
or  Quakers,  about  Kotzebue  Sound,  where  they  have  a 
main  station  and  nine  out  stations,  schools,  and  several 
hundred  adherents,  and  are  doing  very  successful  work. 
Episcopalians  control  the  Yukon  Valley,  employing  a 
bishop,  14  clergy,  native  helpers  8,  women  workers  II, 
wives  of  missionaries  6,  licensed  candidates  2,  missions 
17,  outside  preaching  stations  15,  hospitals  7,  schools  7, 
churches  14,  sawmills  2.  The  Congregationalists  are 
lined  along  Bering  Strait,  with  churches  at  Nome,  Valdez, 
and  Douglas,  and  an  Eskimo  mission  at  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales.  The  Roman  Catholics  and  Orthodox  Greco-Rus- 
sian churches  are  scattered  broadcast.  The  Catholics  have 
19  priests,  11  lay  brothers,  7  sisters  of  St.  Anne,  11  mis- 
sion centres,  and  100  out  stations.  The  Russians  have  a 
bishop,  18  priests,  2  deacons,  44  teachers,  1  woman 
teacher,  1  catechizer,  16  parishes,  17  temples  (churches), 
67  chapels  or  prayer  houses,  and  claim  10,600  adherents, 
of  whom  7,821  are  said  to  be  natives.  Consequently, 
there  is  a  most  wholesome  absence  of  denominational  fric- 
tion, and  the  sects  are  all  harmonious  and  friendly. 

Alaska  in  the  beginning,  so  far  as  the  general  disposi- 
tion of  the  natives  was  concerned,  was  not  a  dangerous 
field.  After  they  were  toned  down  by  naval  discipline 
there  was  small  chance  of  any  missionary  being  killed 
and  eaten.  Three  or  four  have  been  drowned  and 
two  have  been  killed  by  insubordinate  grown  Eski- 
mo pupils  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Mr.  Edwards 
by  a  white  whiskey  smuggler  at  Kake  Island,  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  but  no  gangs  of  bad  men  exist 
throughout  Alaska's  broad  extent  one-half  so  brutal 
as  the  well-dressed  thugs  who  infest  New  York  and 
Chicago.  The  population  of  the  Province  was  no 
longer  savage,  but  like  those  of  British  America  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  They  had 
been  in  contact  with  the  Russians  for  120  years.     Fur 


THE   MIS  SI  OX    FIELD.  105 

hunters,  mining  prospectors,  and  explorers  had  pene- 
trated to  the  innermost  parts  of  the  country.  Quite  a 
few  trading  posts  and  as  many  as  fourscore  chapels  were 
located  at  principal  points.  Fifteen  or  more  tribes  are 
embraced  in  five  ethnic  divisions  of  manifestly  different 
origins,  mainly  from  Asia.  So  many  being  fairly  civilized 
and  skilled  in  many  of  the  finer  arts  is  evidence  of  de- 
generation from  a  civilization  not  very  remote,  whose 
ancestors  were  coeval  with  the  antediluvians  of  the  other 
hemisphere  and  of  the  people  who  formerly  occupied 
Central  America,  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  whose 
close  kindred  dwell  to-day  in  the  vicinity  of  Klamath, 
Oregon,  and  Puget  Sound.  One  proof  of  this  contention 
is  that  they  are  so  susceptible  to  culture,  and  respond  so 
quickly  to  efforts  toward  rehabilitation,  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Duncan  having  restored  a  community  of  Tsimpsheans 
to  its  original  high  plane  in  five  years,  and  had  them 
building  churches,  attending  schools,  keeping  stores,  run- 
ning sawmills,  playing  pipe  organs  and  orchestra  music, 
and  behaving  and  dressing  like  advanced  and  educated 
white  men.  In  like  manner  Rev.  Jackson  had  half  the 
native  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago  going  through  all 
the  motions  of  a  civilized  community  in  ten  years,  with 
the  schoolboys  in  military  uniform  learning  trades  for 
future  support,  and  the  girls  doing  embroidery  as  a  re- 
laxation from  cooking,  baking,  sewing,  washing,  and 
housekeeping,  and  a  dozen  two  and  three-story  build- 
ings to  accommodate  the  crowding  applicants. 

This  partly  explains  why  Alaska  is  forging  ahead  so 
wonderfully.  She  does  not  have  to  import  Asiatic  labor. 
She  has  her  own  indigenes  in  direct  descent,  and  those 
lend  a  willing  hand  toward  her  development.  Her  enter- 
prise and  her  ingenuity  keep  pace  with  her  wants.  She 
makes  history  as  fast  as  she  can  stand  for  it.  Never  was 
there  a  field  so  attractive  to  the  anthropologist,  or  so  rich, 
accessible,  and  easy  to  work.  This  view  is  just  coming 
to  light. 

The  poor  natives  are  suffering  the  terrible  penalties 
for  those  evils  into  which  they  were  betrayed  by  the 
serpent  who  intruded  into  their  primitive  paradise,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  barbaric  inheritance  which  they  re- 
ceived from  their  ancestors  in  the  twin  practices  of 
witchcraft  and  slavery,  with  their  attendant  and  nameless 
cruelties,  which  are  only  repressed  by  legalized  force. 


Io6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

Though  slaves  to  intoxicants,  as  very  many  of  the  na- 
tives are,  they  realize  their  degradation  and  their  help- 
lessness, and  are  anxious  to  extirpate  the  infliction  and 
the  original  cause  of  it.  For  years  they  have  protested 
in  vain  against  its  sale  and  manufacture.  They  are  earn- 
est Prohibitionists  on  principle.  They  are  ready  to  co- 
operate with  any  instrument  or  authority  which  can 
break  it  up.  In  every  effort  of  repression  or  crusade 
against  rum  they  are  prone  to  assist.  The  Indian  police 
are  very  efficient.  Since  1882  they  have  broken  up  the 
manufacture  of  hoochinoo  entirely.  Indian  policemen 
are  earnestly  recommended  for  appointment  over  all  na- 
tive villages.  By  the  respect  for  authority  which  imbues 
their  people,  they  will  not  only  promote  cleanliness,  so- 
briety and  good  order  among  them,  but  through  these 
they  will  insure  the  work  of  missionaries  for  permanent 
good. 

From  the  personal  knowledge  which  I  possess  of  South- 
eastern Alaska,  I  can  say  with  true  satisfaction  that,  on 
account  of  its  physical  formation,  the  field  is  not  a  diffi- 
cult one  to  comprehend  or  provide  for.  Its  needs  and 
its  neglects  are  obvious  at  sight.  It  is  the  easiest  place 
in  the  world  to  reform  and  hold  subject  to  sumptuary 
obligations.  Remedies  for  exogenous  evils,  like  antidotes 
which  grow  with  the  bane,  are  at  hand  ready  for  use 
and  application,  while  the  obstacles  to  success  are  insig- 
nificant, and  may  be  surmounted  with  comparative  ease. 
Its  people  are  gathered  chiefly  into  villages  and  com- 
munities all  along  the  coast,  so  that  they  are  easily  acces- 
sible. They  are  tractable,  industrious,  peaceable,  consci- 
entious, and  eager  to  learn  and  apply  themselves. 

The  degradation  of  the  Alaskan  women  is  notorious 
and  deplorable.  The  cultivation  and  improvement  which 
they  receive  at  the  schools  only  serves  too  often  to  en- 
hance their  commercial  value.  Missionary  John  Brady 
declares  that  the  natives  knew  nothing  of  bodily  diseases, 
nor  of  intoxicants,  before  the  soldiers  came. 

When  the  Russians  transferred  their  wards,  the  na- 
tives, to  the  United  States,  they  stipulated  in  Article  3d  of 
the  Treaty  of  Cession  that  they  should  have  all  the  priv- 
ileges and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ; 
so  that  these  people  stand  in  a  different  relation  to  the 
government  from  a  majority  of  the  red  aborigines.  One 
of  these   stipulated   rights  is  protection;  and  the  best 


THE  MISSION  FIELD. 


107 


sumptuary  protection  is  from  sin  and  the  opportunity  to 
sin.  Take  away  the  grog,  and  the  men  and  women  will 
grow  without  taint.  Although  temporarily  under  stress, 
they  can  be  redeemed.  Careful  Christian  training  of  the 
children  among  them,  and  a  conservation  of  the  unblem- 
ished adults  from  contamination,  will  restore  their  pris- 
tine vigor  and  manliness.  The  examples  of  proficiency 
among  the  pupils  are  really  remarkable,  instances  being 
common  where  youth  and  adults  have  been  able  to  write 
grammatical  English  in  letters  and  composition  within 
a  year  from  the  time  of  their  entering  the  kindergarten 
as  untutored  heathen.  They  are  most  deft  at  all  manner 
of  handiwork — braiding,  embroidering,  carving  in  wood, 
ivory,  bone  and  stone,  engraving  on  metals,  painting, 
and  making  exquisite  fabrics  of  feathers  and  fur,  weav- 
ing, etc.,  etc. ;  and  in  such  estimation  are  their  domestic 
wares  held  by  collectors  and  merchants  that  shrewd 
speculators  keep  them  on  sale  at  the  bazaars  of  San 
Francisco,  New  York,  Washington,  and  other  cosmo- 
politan centres,  where  they  realize  six  times  the  prices 
obtained  in  Alaska.  The  women  have  comely  features, 
though  inclined  to  adipose  fullness.  They  are  modest  in 
their  demeanor  and  attire,  even  when  they  are  most  de- 
praved. In  the  large  towns  their  dress  is  modern,  and 
sometimes  almost  up  to  the  mode,  being  made  of  woolen 
and  cotton  stuffs,  supplemented,  in  a  few  instances,  by 
store  bonnets.  A  very  few  cling  to  their  old-time  lip 
ornaments  (pins  and  labrettes),  tho'  the  use  of  paint  is 
not  uncommon.  Nevertheless,  they  emerged  from  their 
primitive  habits  two  generations  ago ;  that  is,  they 
adopted  European  costumes  and  modes  of  living;  and  at 
present  they  are  as  well  informed  of  the  intrinsic  worth 
of  trinkets  and  tinsel  as  the  traders  themselves.  In  all 
the  principal  stores  at  Sitka,  Wrangell,  Juneau,  Oona- 
lashka,  and  the  other  large  settlements  on  the  coast  to 
the  northward,  may  be  found  assortments  of  goods  equal 
to  those  of  the  average  store  in  New  England.  The^e 
embrace  even  the  latest  patterns  in  garments,  bonnets,  and 
finery,  and  ther.e  is  as  much  of  a  flutter  over  a  new  invoice 
there  as  there  would  be  over  a  millinery  opening  at  the 
East.  In  many  families  modern  utensils  and  furniture 
are  found. 


MEDICINE   AND  MYTHOLOGY 


While  cruising  in  the  Alaskan  archipelago  the  voyager 
often  discovers,  on  some  lone  islet  or  low-lying  point  pro- 
jecting from  a  headland,  what  appears  to  be  a  miniature 
house,  half  hidden  by  a  luxurious  undergrowth.  Sometimes 
it  is  whitewashed  and  sometimes  it  is  painted  in  gaudy  col- 
ors. Occasionally  it  has  a  little  window  in  the  side.  As  a 
rule  it  is  remote  from  settlement  of  any  kind,  and  affords 
the  only  suggestion  of  human  occupation  which  is  seen  for 
miles.  Only  towering  mountain  peaks,  pine-clad  and 
snow-capped,  and  tortuous  water  channels  intervene, 
and  there  is  usually  such  an  absence  of  animal  life,  owing 
to  the  physical  formation  of  angular  heights  and  fathomless 
depths,  that  even  the  scream  of  a  gull  seldom  disturbs 
the  solitude. 

The  stranger  wonders  at  the  apparent  preference  for 
isolation  for  any  purpose  whatsoever  ;  but,  after  having  been 
duly  informed,  he  learns  to  take  it  for  granted  whenever  he 
sees  them,  that  each  of  these  diminutive  tenements  is  the 
mortuary  abode  of  some  "Shaman"  or  Indian  magician, 
whose  supposed  supernatural  powers  have  not  availed  to 
avert  the  inevitable  grip.  Having  completed  the  mortal 
period  of  his  allotment  for  good  or  evil,  whichever  suits  his 
individual  caprice,  he  has  been  summarily  shelved,  as  it 
were,  by  those  who  care  to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with 
him  or  his  occult  dealings.  They  have  swathed  his  poor 
body  in  cerements  of  sail-cloth  and  mats,  covered  it  with  a 
dance  blanket,  and  laid  it  away  like  a  discarded  bundle  whose 
usefulness  is  done.  There  it  will  dry  into  a  mummy,  or 
molder  into  decay.  Nevertheless,  he  has  been  scrupu- 
lously provided  for  by  his  credulous  subjects,  who  have  care- 
fully placed  beside  him,  within  his  wooden  domicile,  all  the 
properties  and  appurtenances  of  his  craft — his  magic 
charms,  hideous  masks,  grotesque  wooden  rattles,  fantas- 
tic toggery,  and  nameless  implements,  which  it  is  believed 
will  serve  him  in  some  new  embodiment  which  he  is  expected 
to  assume.  Formerly  these  relics  were  held  in  superstitious 
awe  by  the  natives,  and  ©ven  the  burial  sit©  was  ghynned. 


MEDICINE  AND  MYTHOLOGY.  109 

But  in  these  days  of  modern  civilization  and  vandalism  the 
graves  are  plundered  of  their  contents,  not  only  by  ethno- 
logical students  and  visitors  in  search  of  curios,  but  by  the 
natives  themselves,  whose  cupidity  has  overcome  the 
scruples  of  bygone  days  of  abject  barbarism. 

The  Shaman,*  or  medicine  man,  is  an  omnipresent  living 
conundrum  to  his  unsophisticated  people.  He  is  a  mystery 
which  they  can  not  comprehend,  and  a  terror  always,  for 
while  he  is  a  handy  sort  of  a  personage  to  have  in  a  com- 
munity, and  is  supposed  to  have  power  to  heal  the  sick,  he 
is,  nevertheless,  believed  to  be  in  league  with  the  devil.  The 
malign  influence  of  his  spells  is  a  constant  menace,  and  no 
one  can  tell  when  or  upon  whom  it  may  fall.  This  is  a  hard 
reputation  to  have,  but  the  Shaman  promotes  it.  He  is  a 
self  constituted  bugaboo,  having  duly  qualified  himself  for 
the  role  by  a  course  of  trying  ordeals  by  fire,water,  famine  and 
direst  torture.  It  is  probably  his  attested  ability  to  survive 
inflictions  which  in  ordinary  course  would  cause  death, 
rather  than  absolute  immunity  from  any  physical  injury, 
which  inspires  his  people  with  a  superstitious  fear.  At  the 
same  time  he  is  himself  in  constant  apprehension  of  some 
clandestine  influence  at  work  to  counteract  his  own.  If  his 
incantations  and  mummeries  fail  of  success,  he  charges  the 
failure  and  its  blame  to  whomever  he  chooses.  Many  an 
innocent  life  has  expiated  an  alleged  interference  in  days 
gone  by.  Happily,  his  supremacy  is  now  at  an  end.  His 
sway  was  incontinently  cut  short  by  Capt.  Beardslee,  in 
1879,  when  he  interposed  to  prevent  the  murder  of  a  woman 
who  had  been  accused  by  a  vengeful  medicine  man  of  being 
a  witch.  A  witch  used  to  have  no  more  show  in  Alaska,  than 
she  did  in  the  days  of  our  disreputable  Pilgrim  forefathers. 

It  is  the  professional  business  of  the  Shaman  to  scare 
people  and  to  keep  them  scared.  It  pays.  Whenever  he 
wants  money,  instead  of  "holding  a  man  up,"  he  shakes 
his  rattle  at  him.  One  shake  will  impoverish  an  ordinary 
Siwash,  two  will  clean  him  out.  It  is  the  same  with  bodily 
ailments.  As  a  medical  practitioner  he  despises  the  use  of 
nostrums,  and  discards  all  physic.  His  method  is  to  frighten 
disease  away.  When  summoned  in  a  case  of  sickness  he  rigs 
himself  out  in  a  garb  that  would  scare  a  hobgoblin  and  in-  ■ 
crease  the  pallor  of  a  ghost.  An  invalid  must  be  in  great 
extremity  indeed  when  he  will  consent  to  send  for  a  doctor. 

"  Shaman  "  is  the  name  applied  to  the  sorcerer  or  magician  among  the 
Kalmuks  and  other  tribes  of  Northern  Asia,  and  the  word,  therefore,  adds 
another  evidence  to  confirm  the  belief  that  the  Pacific  coast  tribes  have  an 

Asiatic  prigiru 


no  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

An  appointment  with  a  nightmare  would  not  require  half 
the  nerve.  The  patient  knows  just  what  to  expect.  He 
has  prepared  himself  to  be  frightened  by  a  long  course  of 
mental  enervation,  and  he  feels  that  it  is  merely  a  toss-up 
which  shall  stand  the  infernal  racket  the  longer  himself  or 
the  ailment.  In  fact  if  he  should  fail  to  be  frightened  at  all, 
the  enchantment  is  kultus — no  good — and  the  doctor  with- 
draws, a  mortified  and  disgruntled  Shaman. 

Such  dilemma  is  alarming,  but  the  medicine  man  is  pre- 
pared to  wrestle  with  it.  He  at  once  dons  a  frightful  head- 
gear of  mountain-goat  horns,  with  a  mask  of  hideous  device ; 
and  down  his  naked  spine  a  row  of  horns,  jet  black  and 
polished,  extends  in  abnormal  development  to  the  very 
base.  Long  pendants  made  of  dried  skunk-skins  and  as- 
sorted intestines  dangle  from  his  head,  armlets  and 
anklets  equally  repulsive  encircle  his  shriveled  limbs, 
and  his  whole  body  glows  with  ocher  of  green,  yellow 
and  red.  Armed  with  a  huge  wooden  rattle,  fash- 
ioned in  the  form  of  a  stork,  with  a  demon  carved  on 
its  back  pulling  out  a  man's  tongue  with  its  teeth,  or  some 
other  collateral  symbol  still  more  repulsive,  and  carrying  a 
long  mystic  rod  or  wand  in  his  hand,  he  advances  into  the 
room  with  a  series  of  postures  and  jerks,  which  impressively 
emphasize  his  aggressiveness,  overpowering  the  patient  and 
leaving  him  limp  and  paralyzed  with  terror.  If,  however, 
the  disease  should  prove  recalcitrant,  the  Shaman  seats  him- 
self on  the  earth  in  the  center  of  the  room  with  his  back 
to  the  fire,  and  proceeds  to  beat  the  ground  with  his  stick, 
shaking  his  rattle  and  singing  with  all  his  might.  He  seems 
in  dead  earnest,  and,  if  there  is  any  thing  in  the  logic  of 
sympathy,  the  patient  ought  to  get  well  instanter.  But  death 
too  often  plays  the  stronger  hand,  carrying  off  the  victim 
and  the  malady  together,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  doctor, 
who  is  very  apt  to  make  some  outsider  the  scapegoat  of  his 
bad  luck.  Quite  likely  he  marvels  that  men  should  die  at 
all,  and  it  must  be  even  a  greater  surprise  to  him  when  he  is 
called  to  shuffle  off  his  own  mortal  coil ;  for  a  magician  so 
capable  to  heal,  and  to  forefend  death,  would  be  likely  to 
suppose  himself  exempt  from  the  common  fate.  But  the 
inevitable  end  comes,  and,  in  view  of  his  peculiar  relation- 
ship as  middleman  between  mortality  and  the  devil,  it  is 
little  wonder  that  he  is  buried  apart  from  his  people,  and 
that  the  site  of  his  grave  is  shunned.  In  something  of  the 
strain  sung  of  an  abdicated  monarch, 

He  sleeps  his  last  sleep,  he  has  sprung  his  last  rattle. 
No  call  can  awake  him  to  mischief  again. 


MEDICINE  AND  MYTHOLOGY.  HI 

On  the  Alaska  coast  the  reputable  dead  used  to  be 
cremated,  and  the  bones  collected  into  a  box  and  preserved. 
The  calcined  remains  are  carefully  placed  in  miniature 
houses  like  the  Shaman's  ;  but,  instead  of  being  isolated  from 
each  other,  the  houses  are  grouped  in  a  common  cemetery, 
as  in  civilized  communities.  The  sites  are  chosen  with 
respect  to  picturesque  attraction  on  grassy  islands,  shapely 
ridges  of  land,  and  curves  of  the  shore.  On  a  burial  island 
near  Metlahkahtla  the  Indians  have  fashioned  a  number  of 
fir  trees  into  very  artistic  patterns.  At  Sitka  there  is  a  long 
ridge  lined  with  several  score  of  these  mortuary  receptacles 
painted  in  gaudy  colors  and  arranged  in  parallel  rows,  inter- 
spersed with  fanciful  totem  poles  in  quaint  devices,  on  the 
apex  of  each  one  of  which  is  a  bear,  a  raven,  or  an  eagle, 
denoting  the  clan  to  which  the  deceased  belonged.  These 
houses  are  seldom  more  than  five  or  six  feet  cube,  with  a 
pyramidal  roof,  sometimes  surmounted  by  a  carved  image, 
and  are  very  creditable  bits  of  architecture,  considering  that 
the  boards  have  been  split  with  an  ax  and  smoothed  with 
an  adze.  There  are  cemeteries  elsewhere  which  are 
inclosed  with  neat  whitewashed  palings,  and  you  often  see 
small  jackstaffs  with  pennants  of  white  and  colored  cotton 
cloth  standing  by  the  graves.  This  is  where  the  method  of 
interment  has  been  adopted  from  the  whites,  the  bodies 
being  placed  in  the  earth  and  carved  slabs  set  up  in  lieu  of 
headstones.  There  are  no  less  than  four  other  modes  of 
sepulture  in  Alaska,  namely,  burial  in  tents  and  in  canoes 
raised  on  staddles  out  of  reach  of  animals,  burial  in  trees, 
aquatic  burial  beneath  the  waves,  and  in  canoes  turned 
adrift. 

Tree-burial  is  more  in  vogue  in  the  interior  than  on  the 
coast,  a  dry  goods  box,  shoe  box,  or  even  a  cask  obtained 
from  some  trader,  being  a  good  enough  coffin  for  the 
defunct  remains.  One  of  these  improvised  burial  caskets, 
which  I  saw  in  the  forks  of  a  tree,  retained  the  original 
manufacturer's  mark  [D  W]  in  the  customary  place  of  the 
coffin  plate,  an  inscription  which  might  have  been  appro- 
priately translated  to  mean  "  dead  weight." 

With  so  many  various  methods  in  vogue  in  the  same 
region,  one  hesitates  to  lay  as  much  stress  as  some  ethnolo- 
gists do  upon  the  assumed  significance  of  mortuary  rites 
and  burial  as  indicating  the  religious  belief  of  those  who 
practice  them.  It  depends  much  upon  circumstances  and 
present  convenience,  as  well  as  the  liability  to  subsequent 
disturbance,  how  Indians,  or  any  other  people,  bury  their 
dead     However,  it  may  be  said  with,  regard  to  cremation, 


ii2  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

which  has  long  been  the  popular  form  in  Alaska,  that  the 
natives  believe  that  the  souls  of  those  who  are  cremated 
turn  into  ravens.  The  raven  is  consequently  a  sacred  bird 
all  over  the  country,  and  is  never  molested.  He  is  known 
as  "  tillikum  "  (friend),  and  it  is  considered  a  good  omen 
when  one  of  the  dismal  creatures  is  in  attendance  at  a 
cremation. 

In  Sitka,  ravens  are  as  numerous  as  buzzards  are  in  some 
Southern  cities,  so  that  the  natives  have  no  lack  of  family 
associations.  One  would  think  they  were  dead  heroes,  sure 
enough,  or  "  hyas-tyees,"  from  the  way  in  which  they  strut 
about  the  place,  and  the  independent  airs  they  assume  ; 
yet  it  is  not  obvious  at  first  thought  what  especial  advantage 
there  may  be  to  the  evicted  spirits  in  securing  the  embodi- 
ment of  this  ill-favored  bird.  What  becomes  of  the  souls  of 
those  who  are  not  cremated  does  not  appear.  Doubtless 
they  abide  in  that  intangible  middle  ground  which  only  a 
few  mortals  have  ever  been  permitted  to  explore.  Two 
years  ago  the  Indian  "  ranche  "  at  Sitka  was  in  a  chronic  state 
of  disquietude  because  of  a  ghost  with  teeth  three  inches 
long,  which  was  said  to  have  been  seen  along  the  Indian 
river,  and  many  were  willing  to  offer  a  hundred  blankets  to 
anyone  who  would  capture  this  terrible  ghost,  which  was 
believed  to  be  that  of  an  Indian  lately  drowned  there,  who 
belonged  to  another  tribe,  and  whose  body  was  not  crema- 
ted but  buried.  A  dead  slave  is  not  considered  worthy  of 
any  ceremony  whatever,  the  corpse  often  being  thrown  into 
the  sea.  There  was  a  death  and  obsequies  when  I  was  in 
Sitka,  and  I  walked  one  morning  down  to  the  end  of  the 
Indian  "  ranche,  "  as  it  is  called,  which  constitutes  the  out- 
skirts of  every  white  settlement  on  the  coast,  to  examine  the 
remains  of  the  funeral  pile  where  the  cremation  had  taken 
place.  I  found  nothing  but  a  small  quantity  of  charred 
coals.  The  unconsumed  brands  had  all  been  carefully  car- 
ried away,  while  the  bones  of  the  corpse  had  been  picked 
out  and  wrapped  in  a  mat  and  laid  away  in  a  dead-house. 
Some  of  these  houses  have  compartments,  and  are  the 
receptacles  of  as  many  as  a  dozen  separate  bundles  of  bones. 

There  is  very  little  ceremony  now  at  a  cremation,  but  in 
earlier  times  a  bereaved  widow  was  subjected  to  a  good  deal 
of  cruelty,  being  repeatedly  thrown  upon  the  pyre  by  sym- 
pathizing friends  or  demonstrative  mourners,  and  seldom 
escaping  without  serious  burns.  Very  few  had  courage  to 
inflict  the  sacrificial  torture  upon  themselves.  Other  near 
relatives  displayed  their  sincerity  of  grief  by  various  bar- 
barous mutilations. 


■.lll|f*;SE.-j'j'*T  I    I     *  I 

rOTEM-POLES. 

I  Note  the  head  of  elephant  on  left-hand  pole.) 


MEDICINE  A  ND  M  YTHOL  OGY.  115 

Previous  to  the  cremation  there  is  a  good  deal  of  formality 
at  the  house  of  mourning.  In.  Alaskan  houses  a  dais  or  plat- 
form runs  around  the  four  sides  of  the  interior,  which  is  a 
single  compartment  or  reception  room,  opening  into  small 
staterooms  on  the  side  opposite  the  entrance.  A  brick  or 
flagged  hearth  occupies  the  center  of  the  quadrangle,  the 
smoke  from  the  fire  escaping  through  a  fiat  cupola  in  the 
roof,  there  being  no  chimneys.  Four  totem  poles  of  fantas- 
tic carving,  and  color,  showing  the  genealogy  of  the  de- 
ceased and  the  clan  to  which  he  belonged,  are  set  up  at  the 
four  corners  of  the  court.  They  are  kept  covered  while  the 
body  sits  in  state,  for  the  dead  Indian  is  not  laid  out  on  a 
bier,  but  is  set  up  on  the  dais  opposite  the  entrance,  with 
his  face  painted  red,  a  fanciful  crown  on  his  head,  and  a 
blanket  over  his  shoulders,  as  if  living.  The  wall  behind 
him  is  appropriately  draped  and  sometimes  festooned  with 
small  American  flags. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  before  the  funeral  the  totem 
poles  are  uncovered  and  the  wailing  begins.  The  whole 
space  between  the  dais  and  the  central  fire  is  crowded  with 
mourners  of  both  sexes,  clad  in  their  best  blankets,  who  beat 
the  ground  with  sticks  in  time  with  a  doleful  chant.  This 
lugubrious  singing  and  shaking  of  rattles  and  beating  of 
the  floor  with  long  staffs  is  kept  up  all  night.  When  the 
hour  of  cremation  comes  the  body  is  hoisted  out  through  the 
roof  and  carried  to  the  funeral  pile.  A  corpse  is  never  taken 
out  of  the  door  of  a  house.  It  would  be  "  bad  medicine," 
and  defile  the  temple.  Some  tribes  of  Indians  burn  the 
bark  or  skin  lodge  whose  inmate  dies  therein,  or  they  set  up 
the  lodge  apart  from  habitations  and  place  the  dead  body  in 
it,  occupying  it  no  more  as  a  dwelling.  But  this  practice 
would  be  expensive  where  the  houses  are  substantial  and 
hard  to  build,  as  is  the  case  with  most  of  the  winter  resi- 
dences in  Alaska.  As  a  matter  of  belief  a  house  in  which 
an  Indian  dies  is  defiled,  and  this  notion  is  as  old  as  the 
Mosaic  Law,  for  proof  of  which  see  Old  Testament,  book 
of  Numbers,   Chap.   XIX.,  verse  14. 

The  funeral  pile  is  made  of  resinous  spruce  poles  of  the 
proper  length,  built  up  in  cob-house  fashion,  with  fat  pine 
sticks  placed  inside  of  the  crib,  on  which  the  body  is  laid 
wrapped  in  its  blanket.  Logs  are  then  added  above  the 
body,  crossing  other  logs  at  the  corners,  and  then  the  whole 
is  set  on  fire.  An  intense  heat  and  conflagration  results, 
and  a  few  of  the  Indians  remain  to  keep  the  fire  alive  with 
their  long  poles,  while  a  bevy  of  sad  women  contemplate  the 
ghastly  procedure  from  their  seats  on  the  grass  not  far 


n6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

away.  When  every  thing  is  consumed  the  relations  will  cull 
out  the  whitened  bones  and  level  the  ashes  decorously. 
There  is  no  odor,  and  everything  is  done  silently,  decently, 
and  in  order. 

It  is  customary  to  place  the  dead  man's  property  beside 
the  bundle  of  bones,  which  represents  all  that  he  was  cor- 
poreally, and  occasionally  his  canoe  is  drawn  up  beside  the 
tomb,  allegorically  to  continue  the  voyage  of  life,  but  in 
fact  to  remain  until  it  falls  to  decay.  Of  late  years  inquisi- 
tive visitors,  as  well  as  avaricious  vandals,  have  robbed  the 
dead  houses  of  all  their  contents,  and  even  despoiled  them 
of  their  bones.  The  canoes  have  been  cut  up  or  stolen,  and 
the  sepulchers  otherwise  shamefully  desecrated.  Grass  and 
weeds  have  grown  up  inside  to  their  very  roofs,  and  if  a 
chance  stranger  attempts  to  explore  the  violated  precincts, 
he  finds  a  satisfactory  inspection  prevented  by  an  almost 
impenetrable  jungle  of  undergrowth.  And  all  this  neglect 
and  disorder  is  done  and  suffered  at  the  capital  of  the  ter- 
ritory, and  there  seems  to  be  no  official  authority  to  interdict 
or  protest. 

Some  writers  on  Alaska  topics  who  aim  to  be  sensational, 
are  very  fond  of  printing  in  their  books  engravings  of 
totem  poles  and  idols,  and  obsolete  things  which  the  young 
natives  of  the  present  generation  regard  with  much  the  same 
interest  that  we  do  the  calashes  and  warming  pans  of  our 
grandmothers,  or  the  "  one  horse  shay,"  and  credulous 
readers  are  apt  to  infer  therefrom  that  the  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  people  is  but  one  remove  from  heathenism, 
whereas  it  is  not  impossible  to  find  Christianity  in  some 
localities  nurtured  and  propagated  exclusively  by  native 
efforts.  We  who  took  umbrage  at  the  travesties  of  Charles 
Dickens  ought  not  to  underrate  or  misrepresent  the  poor 
Siwash.  For  myself,  I  prefer  to  write  in  behalf  of  an 
"  improved  order  of  red  men,"  quite  content  to  leave  the 
archaeology  and  mythology  of  Alaska  to  the  antiquarians. 
Doubtless  there  is  a  sort  of  morbid  interest  in  tracing  out 
the  hieroglyphs  upon  a  T'linket  dance-blanket,  and  an 
enthusiast  may  even  fancy  that  he  has  unraveled  some 
pious  analogies  from  their  mystic  woof,  but  he  who  is  accus- 
tomed to  read  the  heroics  of  the  red  men  of  the  plains  as 
they  are  pictured  on  the  rocks  and  sketched  with  pigments 
on  their  robes,  and  shields,  and  tepees,  will  find  in  the 
T'linket  blanket  but  a  simple  analogue  and  repetition  of 
the  oft-told  story  of  vaunted  prowess  ;  or  perhaps  a  shad- 
owy suggestion  of  some  familiar  thoughts  or  objects  or 
practices  like  those  we  see  on  the  bronzes,  fans,  and  screens 


MEDICINE  AND  M  YTHOLOG  Y.  1 1 7 

of  Japan  and  China.  But  there  is  not  enough  dust  of  an- 
tiquity between  the  blanket-folds  to  blind  the  ingenuous 
searcher  after  knowledge.  Doubtless  some  progressive 
savage  in  these  modern  days  has  traced  our  spiritual  lineage 
in  the  patterns  of  our  Wedgewood  ware,  and  discovered  rev- 
elations of  deepest  human  import  in  our  Holland  delf. 
Students  of  composite  zoology  may  amuse  themselves  by 
the  day,  or  month,  in  deciphering  the  intricacies  of  the  em- 
blazoned totem  poles  ;  and  some  of  the  most  pedantic  will 
point  out  to  you  the  "  all  seeing  eye,"  the  "  thunder-bird," 
identical  with  the  Aztec  "  bird  of  the  sun,"  and  the  "  light- 
ning-fish," which  simple  natives,  it  is  said,  believe  to  be  the 
authors  of  those  profound  phenomena  of  the  air.  Yet  is  it 
more  absurd  to  attribute  the  noise  of  thunder  to  the  cleav- 
ing wings  of  a  supposititious  bird,  or  the  lightning-flash  to 
the  darting  fish  which  stirs  the  phosphorescence  of  the  sea, 
than  it  is  to  explain  the  sound  of  thunder  as  being  caused 
by  the  swif*  passage  of  the  electrical  bolt  ?  Verily,  the  sub- 
limity of  ignorance  is  as  profound  as  the  depth  of  wisdom. 
To  the  untutored  savage  mind  the  structural  idea  of  swift- 
ness, courage,  strength,  and  brain,  and  all  the  mental  and 
physical  attributes  of  man  and  divinity,  are  best  expressed 
and  comprehended  through  external  objects  which  he  makes 
symbolical.  Their  modes  of  thought,  and  the  notions  they 
have  respecting  departed  spirits,  are  illustrated  in  their  rude 
way.  The  natives  of  Alaska  have  thought  that  the  crows 
control  the  eruptions  of  volcanoes,  and  that  they  have 
power  over  the  Spirit  of  Evil  which  incites  them.  They 
believe  in  transmigration,  and  in  the  supernatural  powers  of 
the  bear  and  raven,  which  are  prominent  on  all  their  insig- 
nia. Probably  the  essence  of  their  religious  belief  is  out- 
lined in  the  following  legend  connected  with  Mt.  Edgecumbe, 
once  an  active  volcano.  It  is  the  most  significant  of  all 
the  legends  of  the  Deluge.  It  was  printed  in  the  Century. 
The  story  runs  :  "  A  long  time  ago  the  earth  sank  beneath 
the  water,  and  the  water  rose  and  covered  the  highest  places, 
so  that  no  man  could  live.  It  rained  so  hard  that  it  was  as 
if  the  sea  fell  from  the  sky.  All  was  black,  and  it  became 
so  dark,  that  no  man  knew  another.  Then  a  few  people 
ran  here  and  there  and  made  a  raft  of  cedar  logs  ;  but  noth- 
ing could  stand  against  the  white  waves,  and  the  raft  was 
broken  in  two. 

"  On  one  part  floated  the  ancestors  of  the  T'linkits  ;  on 
the  other,  the  parents  of  all  other  nations.  The  waters  tore 
them  apart,  and  they  never  saw  each  other  again.  Now 
their  children  are  all  different,  and  do  not  understand  each 


n8  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

other.  In  the  black  tempest,  Chethl  was  torn  from  his 
sister  Ah-gish-ahn-ahkon  [The-woman-who-supports-the- 
earth].  Chethl  [symbolized  in  the  ospreyj  called  aloud  to 
her,  '  You  will  never  see  me  again  ;  but  you  will  hear  my 
voice  forever  ! '  Then  he  became  an  enormous  bird,  and 
flew  to  southwest,  till  no  eye  could  follow  him.  Ah-gish- 
ahn-ahkon  climbed  above  the  waters,  and  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  Edgecumbe.  The  mountain  opened,  and  received 
her  into  the  bosom  of  the  earth.  That  hole  [the  crater]  is 
where  she  went  down.  Ever  since  that  time  she  has  held 
the  earth  above  the  water.  The  earth  is  shaped  like  the 
back  of  a  turtle,  and  rests  on  a  pillar  ;  Ah-gish-ahn-ahkon 
holds  the  pillar.  Evil  spirits  that  wish  to  destroy  mankind 
seek  to  overthrow  her  and  drive  her  away.  The  terrible 
battles  are  long  and  fierce  in  the  lower  darkness.  Often  the 
pillar  rocks  and  sways  in  the  struggle,  and  the  earth  trem- 
bles and  seems  like  to  fall  ;  but  Ah-gish-ahn-ahkon  is  good 
and  strong,  so  the  earth  is  safe. 

"  Chethl  lives  in  the  bird  Kunna-Kaht-eth  ;  his  nest  is  in 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  in  the  hole  through  which  his  sis- 
ter disappeared. 

"  He  carries  whales  in  his  claws  to  this  eyrie,  and  there 
devours  them.  He  swoops  from  his  hiding-place,  and  rides 
on  the  edge  of  the  coming  storm.  The  roaring  of  the 
tempest  is  his  voice  calling  to  his  sister.  He  claps  his  wings 
in  the  peals  of  thunder,  and  its  rumbling  is  the  rustling  of 
his  pinions.     The  lightning  is  the  flashing  of  his  eyes." 

Even  the  whites  have  acquired  some  of  the  Indian  super- 
stitions. There  are  credulous  people  who  believe  that  croc- 
odiles once  inhabited  Alaska  because  a  wooden  nondescript 
exists  which  somewhat  resembles  one.  So  also  because  the 
snake  is  a  favorite  pattern  for  bracelets,  they  believe  that 
snakes  once  existed  in  the  land,  when,  forsooth,  the  first 
design  was  furnished  by  a  chance  visitor  to  a  native  silver- 
smith who  began  to  manufacture  them  ;  and  when  a  San 
Francisco  sharp  discovered  how  great  the  demand  was  for 
them  he  sent  seventy  dozen  pairs  of  California  workman- 
ship to  a  trusty  Siwash  at  Sitka  on  commission.  Verily, 
when  science  overleaps  itself,  the  tumble  is  precipitate.  I 
do  not  take  much  stock  in  the  mythological  significance  of 
the  multifarious  devices  which  are  inseparable  from  Alaskan 
handiwork.  Some  of  them  are  obviously  the  crude  expres- 
sions of  their  primitive  theology,  but  for  the  rest,  they  are 
the  mere  outcroppings  of  a  genius  of  deformity,  fable  and 
incongruity,  which  is  their  inherent  propensity.  These 
natives   are  born  caricaturists,    manifesting    their    broad 


MEDICINE  AND  MYTHOLOGY. 


119 


humor  in  every  thing  they  do,  or  make,  or  say,  so  that  all 
their  domestic  utensils,  their  ornaments  and  interior  deco- 
rations, their  boats  and  paddles,  toys,  dolls,  masks,  attire, 
and  even  their  family  escutcheons,  are  often  of  the  most 
grotesque  character.  The  images  which  they  make  are  not 
all  idols,  nor  worshipful.  As  for  their  religious  zeal  as 
Christian  proselytes,  it  is  related  that  some  wicked  wags 
induced  the  converted  Indians  of  Sitka  to  demand  a 
"  potlatch "  of  100  blankets  from  two  Hebrew  traders 
because,  it  had  been  told  them,  they  had  killed  their 
"  tillikum,"  the  Christ ! 


INBIAN  GRAVE. 


ALASKA'S   MINERAL  WEALTH. 


There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  early  days  of  discovery 
and  prospecting  among  the  quartz  ledges  of  southeastern 
Alaska  there  was  more  swindling  to  the  square  inch  than 
in  any  other  known  location,  but  swindling  was  made 
easy  because  the  "stuff"  was  there,  the  indications  were 
there,  and  pay-dirt  and  bonanza-quartz  were  there. 
Officers  of  the  army  and  navy  who  were  on  the  station 
were  the  principal  investors  and  chief  sufferers,  because 
nobody  else  had  any  ready  cash.  These  confiding  and 
intelligent  gentlemen,  who  were  on  the  spot  and  took  the 
pains  to  examine  for  themselves,  making  interminable 
tramps  through  the  wilderness  to  visit  quartz  ledges  and 
placer  diggings,  eagerly  "blew  in"  all  they  could  spare 
each  pay  day,  on  the  faith  of  their  own  investigations.  I 
know  of  one  officer  who  had  no  less  than  $2,500  so 
placed,  and  I  myself  had  a  considerable  stake  in  the 
old  Lake  Mountain  property,,  ten  miles  out  from  Sitka, 
neither  of  which  has  yet  failed  of  its  promise.  Want  of 
capital  and  absence  of  mechanical  appliances  made  invest- 
ments unremunerative  at  the  outset,  but  as  soon  as  ever 
capital  was  forthcoming  the  mines  declared  themselves 
in  metallic  tones  which  no  adverse  clamor  could  down. 
The  largest  stamp-mill  in  the  world,  which  has  been  in 
active  operation  on  Douglas  Island  for  twenty  years  and 
more,  was  one  of  these  early  properties.  It  is  owned  by 
San  Francisco  parties.  The  ore  comes  right  out  of  the 
side  of  the  mountain  (which  rises  abruptly  from  the 
ocean)  and  is  shot  down  an  inclined  plane  to  the  stamp- 
mill,  where  it  is  treated ;  and  vessels  drawing  twenty  feet 
of  water  can  lie  right  alongside  the  rocks  of  the  natural 
shore  and  receive  their  freight  not  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  mill.  The  primitive  forest  clothes  the  slopes  of  the 
mountain  from  base  to  summit,  and  fuel  is  all  around  in 
intimate  proximity.     No  plant  of  such  value  was  ever 


'ALASKA'S   MINERAL    WEALTH.  121 

erected  or  operated  at  so  cheap  a  cost.  It  is  said  the 
outlay  was  half  a  million  dollars,  and  that  $16,000,000 
have  been  refused  for  the  property.  It  is  a  low-grade 
ore,  yielding  $5  to  $100  per  ton  of  quartz.  No  stock 
is  for  sale.  The  first  gold-brick  came  out  in  July  1, 
1885,  and  weighed  297  ounces.  In  August  the  output 
was  equal  to  $60,000,  and  the  mill  is  now  reported  to  be 
running  up  to  $100,000  per  month,  with  improving  pros- 
pects. It  is  said  that  Senator  Jones,  of  Nevada,  who  was 
one  of  its  principal  stockholders,  added  $250,000  a  year 
to  his  income  from  its  output.  Right  alongside  of  this 
mine,  in  continuation  of  the  same  ledge  or  formation,  is 
the  Treadwell  claim,  also  phenomenal,  and  also  owned 
in  San  Francisco.  Other  early  locations  were  on  Wil- 
loughby  Island,  in  Cross  Sound ;  the  "North  Star,"  near 
Juneau,  at  Kilisnoo,  at  Admiralty  Island,  and  at  Silver 
Bow  Basin,  just  across  the  channel  from  Douglas  Island, 
six  miles  back  from  the  shore,  and  in  the  heart  of  the 
mountains.  The  estimated  yield  of  this  mine  was  $120,- 
000  as  early  as  1884.  These  neighborhood  mines  made 
Juneau  a  metropolis  at  the  start,  and  gave  her  at  once 
all  the  appointments  of  civilization,  including  a  news- 
paper, barber  shop  and  bath. 

About  sixty  miles  from  Juneau  is  the  Chilkat  country, 
which  Captain  Beardslee  succeeded  in  opening  to  miners 
in  1880  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  prominent  chief 
named  "Sitka  Jack,"  whom  he  sent  into  the  interior  as 
plenipotentiary,  arrayed  in  all  the  self-sufficiency  and 
authority  of  a  blue  frock-coat,  brass  buttons,  a  colonel's 
stripes,  a  navy  cap  with  gold  band  and  device,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, a  sword.  He  remained  all  winter  dispensing  good 
cheer  liberally  from  village  to  village,  and  when  he  re- 
turned in  the  spring,  the  up-country  natives  said  it  was 
"all  right ;  the  white  people  might  come ;"  whereupon,  in 
1881,  a  schooner  immediately  outfitted  at  Sitka  to  statt 
for  Chilkat.  Jack  lived  at  Sitka  in  one  of  the  best 
houses  in  the  "ranche,"  white-painted,  with  windows, 
green  blinds,  porch  and  veranda. 

Gold  was  early  discovered  on  the  Yukon,  and  Lt. 
Schwatka  found  miners  at  work  on  the  Stewart  River, 
a  tributary,  in  1883.  Several  hundred  were  there  in  1886. 
Captain  Beardslee,  U.  S.  N.,  who  was  on  the  Alaska  sta- 
tion during  the  years  1879-82,  has  given  a  complete  his- 
tory of  mining  operations  in  the  vicinity  of  Sitka  during 


122  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

the  Russian  occupation,  and  up  to  the  year  1880.  Its 
publication  was  commenced  in  the  Forest  and  Stream  in 
1879,  while  I  was  its  editor,  and  continued  throughout 
the  year  following. 

It  seems  that  reports  of  mineral  and  marble  discov- 
eries were  long  ago  brought  in  from  time  to  time  by  the 
Indian  fur  hunters,  but  very  little  attention  was  paid  to 
them  until  the  year  1855,  when  the  Russian  government 
sent  an  engineer  officer  to  examine  and  investigate  into 
the  mineral  resources  of  the  country.  Although  he  was 
ostensibly  engaged  in  this  duty  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
the  report  is  current  that  he  put  in  the  best  part  of  his 
time  at  Sitka  in  "potlatch"  and  dancing;  and  as  he  never 
visited  the  range  of  mountains  on  which  are  situated 
nearly  all  of  the  ledges  which  have  since  been  discovered, 
his  report  was  unfavorable;  and  from  that  date  until  the 
transfer  of  the  territory  to  the  United  States  nothing  was 
done.  In  fact,  the  Russians  were  after  fur,  and  not  gold. 
The  fur  company  itself  was  especially  lukewarm  toward 
prospectors  and  explorers,  because,  by  the  terms  of  their 
contract,  the  government  had  a  right  to  take  away  from 
them  the  control  of  any  lands  in  which  mineral  deposits 
were  found. 

The  first  discovery  of  gold  in  the  vicinity  of  Sitka  was 
made  by  a  soldier  named  Doyle,  in  187 1.  In  1872  string- 
ers of  quartz  were  found  at  Indian  River,  one  mile  from 
town,  and  in  the  mountains,  back  of  Silver  Bay,  ten  miles 
from  town,  and  the  "Haley  &  Milletich  ledge,"  the  "Bear 
ledge,"  and  the  "Upper  ledge"  successively  came  to  light. 
On  December  9  of  that  year  the  first  blast  ever  made  in 
Alaska  quartz  was  exploded,  and  from  the  rock  thrown 
out  and  broken  up  by  it,  about  sixty  dollars  worth  of 
free  gold  was  obtained.  On  Christmas  day  the  "Stewart 
ledge"  was  discovered.  The  next  year,  in  1873,  two  min- 
ing companies  were  formed  of  army  officers  and  citizens 
of  Sitka.  In  1877  the  "Lower  ledge"  passed  into  the 
hands  of  San  Francisco  people,  who  organized  the  Baro- 
noff  Island  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company.  Sitka  is 
situated  on  Baronoff  Island. 

Coal  was  discovered  at  Kilisnoo  and  at  Cook's  Inlet, 
and  places  to  the  westward  as  early  as  1886. 

These  were  the  auspicious  beginnings.  At  the  present 
day  mineral  prospects  are  spread  over  the  whole  region 
from  the  Pacific  to  the  Arctic  oceans.    Interest  has  been 


X 


ALASKA'S   MINERAL    WEALTH.  125 

diverted  for  the  present  from  the  upper  Yukon,  Forty- 
Mile  Creek  and  Porcupine  Creek  diggings,  and  from  the 
southeastern  ledges,  to  the  middle  ground  of  the  interior 
and  the  Seward  Peninsula  in  the  northwest.  E.  S.  Har- 
rison, of  Seattle,  has  published  an  exhaustive  statement 
of  this  latter  region,  of  which  the  very  considerable  city 
of  Nome  is  the  entrepot,  giving  full  statistics  of  the  au- 
riferous deposits  and  the  aggregate  output  since  the 
great  strike  ten  years  ago  [this  sort  of  a  strike  doesn't 
hurt],  during  which  time  it  added  $35,000,000  to  the 
wealth  of  the  country!  It  all  came  out  of  Uncle  Sam's 
"Cache  near  the  Pole."  If  the  Seward  Peninsula  only 
had  a  climate  like  California  its  annual  gold  output  would 
be  from  fifteen  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars  a  year. 

Mining  in  this  part  of  the  world  is  totally  unlike  what 
it  is  anywhere  else.  To  get  the  gold  out  of  the  earth  the 
miners  plow  and  ditch.  Thene  are  no  surface  indications. 
The  tundra  overlays  the  ancient  channels  of  glacial 
streams,  and  these  are  discovered  by  digging  holes  in  the 
ground.  Ditches  are  made,  and  furrows  are  plowed 
from  these  ditches  to  a  river.  Water  is  turned  into  these 
furrows,  and  soon  deep  gullies  are  worn  down  to  the  pre- 
historic gravel  beds,  where  the  pay  streaks  lie.  That  is 
the  way  of  it!  Who  would  have  ever  thought  that  these 
sphagnum  plains  would  be  found  to  be  the  chief  deposi- 
tory of  the  nation's  wealth?  This  monograph  of  Harri- 
son's is  of  inestimable  use  to  any  one  interested  in  this 
subject.     So  is  his  "Alaska  Almanac"  for  1908. 

The  Valdez  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  also  issued  a 
book  of  information  regarding  the  region  tributary  to  it, 
and,  of  course,  reliable.  Valdez  is  the  gateway  to  the 
Copper  River  country  north  and  west  of  Cook's  Inlet. 
Thousands  of  acres  of  low-grade  gold  placers  are  known 
of  along  Copper  River.      I  quote: 

"Along  the  coast  from  Kyak  west  is  found  coal  and 
oil  in  abundance.  In  Prince  William  Sound  on  both  sides 
from  the  ocean  to  Valdez  are  scores  of  copper  properties. 
The  Gladhaugh  mine  at  Ellamar,  about  twenty  miles 
south  of  Valdez,  is  the  heaviest  producer,  having  shipped 
some  40,000  tons  during  the  past  year.  The  Bonanza,  on 
Latouche  Island,  is  also  a  regular  shipper,  while  many 
other  properties,  notably  the  Simonstadt  group  at  Galena 
Bay,  are  being  opened  up.  The  copper  ores  of  the  coast 
are  of  the  sulphuret  variety,  averaging  about  15  per  cent., 


I26  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

and  carrying  good  gold  values,  and  are  all  close  to  navi- 
gable waters.  Gold  and  antimony  also  exist  along  the 
Sound. 

Passing  through  Valdez  to  the  Copper  River  valley 
there  will  be  found  located  on  the  Kotsina  and  Chittyna 
rivers  and  their  tributaries  vast  bodies  of  high-grade 
copper,  such  as  bornite,  glance  and  native  copper.  A 
short  distance  from  this  large  deposits  of  tin  have  been 
recently  located. 

Across  the  range,  on  the  upper  Tanana,  about  seventy- 
five  claims  of  free-milling  quartz  are  located,  and  many 
copper  properties. 

The  Yukon  Railroad,  now  building  from  Valdez  to 
Eagle,  will  traverse  and  open  up  the  most  extensive  and 
richest  copper  district  on  earth.  It  will  pass  through  and 
open  for  settlement  thirty-five  thousand  square  miles  of 
rich  agricultural  lands.  It  will  give  easy  access  to  the 
rich  gold  placer  deposits  of  the  Nizina,  Slate  Creek, 
Chisna,  Tanana,  White  River,  Shushitna,  Bremner  and 
Kaina.  It  will  open  up  and  make  productive  hundreds 
of  placer  deposits  now  inaccessible.  It  will  increase  the 
gold  production  of  the  United  States  ten  million  per  year. 
These  are  pointers,  sure  and  direct,  to  "Our  Cache 
near  the  Pole."  Furthermore,  we  are  told  that  during 
the  year  1900,  after  many  hardships,  a  few  men  discov- 
ered Slate  Creek  and  Miller  Gulch  with  pay  dirt,  and 
brought  back  $15,000  worth  of  gold  for  a  few  days' 
work.  In  1901  the  same  camp  cleaned  up  $175,000.  The 
year  1902  was  still  better,  with  a  clean-up  of  $310,000 
for  probably  ninety  days'  actual  work.  The  year  1903 
had  more  disadvantages,  there  being  an  unusually  heavy 
snowfall.  With  all  the  disadvantages  encountered,  the 
output  was  $275,000. 

The  Nizina  placer  camp  was  discovered  in  the  summer 
of  1902,  and  after  all  necessary  arrangements  had  been 
made  for  opening  the  mines  the  output  for  the  first  year 
was  $20,000.  The  second  year,  1903,  $135,000  wac  taken 
from  the  same  place.  Shushitna  was  discovered  in  the 
summer  of  1903  by  five  prospectors,  and  for  fifteen  days' 
work  they  cleaned  up  one  hundred  ounces,  or  $1,750. 
This  promises  to  be  one  of  the  richest  of  the  camps  tribu- 
tary to  Valdez.  Another  new  find  was  reported  this  year 
on  Lowe  River,  only  a  few  miles  from  Valdez.  Copper 
is  found  everywhere,  and  in  many  places  so  rich  in  qual- 


ALASKA'S   MINERAL    WEALTH. 


127 


ity  that  the  pure  copper  projects  from  the  ground.  The 
Nizina  is  full  of  high-grade  ore  that  averages  from  40  to 
70  per  cent.  When  adequate  transportation  facilities  are 
provided  Valdez  will  become  the  center  of  the  smelting 
industry  and  the  shipping  point  for  the  greatest  group  of 
copper  mines  in  the  known  world. 

Capt.  Abercrombie,  who  claims  to  have  traveled  over 
more  miles  of  territory  in  Central  Alaska  than  any  other 
white  man,  and  has  informed  himself  of  the  geological 
structure  of  the  mountain  ranges  and  their  mineral  de- 
posits, writes  in  the  Seattle  Mail  and  Herald  the  follow- 
ing words  of  encouragement  to  settlers  other  than 
miners : 

"For  a  century  past  the  great  safety  valve  for  the  con- 
dition of  the  poor  man  in  the  crowded  portions  of  our 
country  has  been  the  thought  of  'free  land  in  the  west.' 
Adventurous  spirits,  finding  themselves  unable  to  get 
ahead  in  the  older  settled  communities,  have  ever  been 
free  to  dispose  of  their  interests  and  move  forward 
towards  the  frontier  to  avail  themselves  of  new  and 
broader  opportunities  for  becoming  independent.  This 
pioneer  movement  has  been  the  greatest  of  all  factors  in 
the  wonderful  achievements  of  our  country. 

"But  the  'free  land  in  the  west'  is  about  exhausted. 
There  now  remain  but  a  few  limited  portions  of  the  pub- 
lic domain  in  any  of  the  western  states  which  can  be 
said  to  be  fertile  and  productive.  But  what  'the  west' 
has  offered  for  the  man  desirous  of  bettering  his  condi- 
tion, ten,  twenty,  forty,  or  one  hundred  years  ago,  Alaska 
offers  to-day.  In  the  wonderful  empire  to  the  north 
there  are  thousands,  yes,  millions  of  acres  of  lands  suit- 
able for  agricultural  purposes,  capable  according  to  the 
able  authority  of  the  special  agent  of  the  Agricultural 
Department,  Prof.  C.  C.  Georgeson,  of  sustaining  an 
agricultural  population  of  three  millions  of  people,  and 
open  to-day  under  the  American  homestead  laws  to  actual 
settlement. 

"Owing  to  her  manifold  resources  in  this  and  other 
lines  of  development,  the  Copper  River  country  offers 
greater  opportunities  for  the  man  of  moderate  means 
desiring  to  make  a  home  for  himself  and  to  become  self- 
supporting,  than  any  section  of  the  Pacific  states  did 
twenty  years  ago.  The  development  of  the  vast  mineral 
resources,  which  has  already  begun  on  a  large  scale,  pro- 


128  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

vides  a  practically  inexhaustible  market  for  all  the  hay 
and  garden  produce  that  will  be  raised  in  the  country  for 
the  next  ten  years  at  higher  prices  than  can  be  secured 
in  any  market  in  the  United  States.  A  man  making  his 
home  there  can  work  his  farm  or  garden  during  the 
farming  season,  and  during  the  winter  time  can  go  to 
the  streams  for  fish  and  to  the  hills  for  game,  and  thus 
keep  himself  supplied  at  little  trouble  with  meat  for  the 
year  round.  At  the  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  farmer 
would  ordinarily  be  unemployed  he  can  go  to  the  nearby 
mines  where  he  can  secure  steady  employment  at  excel- 
lent wages. 

"A  man  with  rudimentary  ideas  of  agriculture,  and 
with  a  knowledge  of  frontier  life  such  as  would  enable 
him  to  rustle  for  himself  in  a  sparsely  settled  country 
can  go  into  the  Copper  River  country  in  the  vicinity  of 
Copper  Center,  carry  with  him  a  few  tools,  a  pocketful  of 
seeds,  and  a  supply  of  flour,  salt  and  coffee  sufficient  to 
last  him  one  season,  and  within  a  few  years  can  by  the 
exertion  of  his  own  efforts,  become  independent.  The 
first  year  he  can  spade  or  plough  up  his  garden  ground 
and  sow  his  seeds.  He  can  then  construct  his  own  cabin 
from  timber  cut  on  the  ground.  He  can  kill  his  own 
meat,  and  he  can  catch  any  quantity  of  fish  in  the 
streams.  He  can,  if  he  desires,  work  a  portion  of  the 
summer  season  in  one  of  the  many  mines,  and  when  fall 
comes  he  will  have,  not  only  the  money  he  has  earned  by 
his  labor  for  others,  but  in  addition  will  have  his  home 
and  the  produce  of  his  garden  as  well.  Or  he  can  cut 
and  put  up  for  the  winter  season  the  wild  grass  hay  which 
is  sure  to  command  a  good  price  throughout  the  winter 
months  at  any  point  along  the  military  trail. 

"Once  located,  and  particularly  if  Congress  makes 
more  liberal  provisions  in  the  matter  of  granting  lands 
to  settlers,  as  is  probable,  the  settler  will,  upon  the  ad- 
vent of  the  railroad,  find  himself  in  possession,  with  a 
perfect  title  from  the  government,  of  a  piece  of  valua- 
ble land,  and  a  home  and  income  sufficient  to  render  him 
financially  independent. 

"Strangers  who  know  nothing  of  the  possibilities  of 
the  country  may  scoff  at  these  statements  just  as  thou- 
sands scoffed  at  similar  statements  concerning  the  agri- 
cultural possibilities  of  the  country  composing  the  great 
empire  of  western  America.    But  to  those  who  have  been 


ALASKA'S   MINERAL    WEALTH.  129 

through  the  country  these  possibilities  are  too  well  known 
to  require  substantiation." 

What  the  Captain  says  of  the  winters  up  there  at  the 
"Cache"  comparing  favorably  with  those  of  northern 
New  York  and  Minnesota  will  be  cheerful  news  to  many 
who  have  been  deterred  from  migrating  into  the  gold  re- 
gions by  the  bugbear  of  frigid  conditions. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES. 


It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  unusual  opportun- 
ities to  investigate  the  inland  and  salt  water  fishes  of  Alaska, 
having  coasted  along  a  thousand  miles  of  the  shore  line  and 
visited  nearly  all  of  its  fishing  stations  in  company  with  pro- 
fessional fishermen,  familiar  with  the  Pacific  coast.  Knowl- 
edge of  the  habitat  of  deep-sea  fish  can  only  be  obtained 
by  feeling  the  bottom  with  repeated  and  laborious  soundings, 
aided  by  that  intuition  which  enables  an  experienced  person 
to  determine  where  they  are  by  the  color  of  the  water  and 
the  configuration  of  the  land.  Codfish  and  some  other 
species  can  be  traced  in  part  by  following  the  bait  fish  upon 
which  they  feed  and  which  appear  upon  the  surface  and  in 
the  bays  and  estuaries  at  certain  seasons.  Seafowls,  seals 
and  humpbacked  whales  are  of  great  assistance  to  the  investi- 
gator— indicating  by  their  own  presence  the  presence  of  the 
fish.  Humpbacked  whales  and  porpoises  are  often  seen  in 
large  numbers  in  the  land-locked  waters  of  the  Alaskan 
archipelago,  sporting  and  spouting  in  basins  so  small  that 
they  seem  hardly  more  than  lakelets  ;  and  it  is  proper  at 
once  to  remind  the  reader  that  the  entire  mainland  of  our 
new  possession  is  flanked  by  an  outlying  chain  of  islands, 
chiefly  mountainous,  with  shores  which  drop  abruptly  into 
deep  water  ;  and  that  there  are  few  open-water  reaches  for 
a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred  miles  that  are  exposed  to  the 
full  force  of  the  ocean  swell  and  the  breakers. 

From  all  indications  I  am  convinced  that  some  day  in  the 
near  future  the  fisheries  of  Alaska  will  occupy  as  important 
a  commercial  place  as  those  of  Norway  and  the  Hebrides 
and  the  North  Atlantic.  Already  the  canning  of  salmon 
has  become  an  industry  of  considerable  importance,  and 
establishments  have  been  located  at  all  the  principal  points 
as  far  north  as  Sitka  and  considerably  beyond,  the  proprie- 
tors preferring  the  services  of  the  native  Indians  to  those  of 
the  irrepressible  Chinese — the  favorable  difference  between 
the  two  races  compensating  for  the  many  obvious  inconven- 
iences of  a  location  so  remote  from  a  market. 

An  evidence  of  the  value  to  which  these  fisheries  have 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  131 

attained  even  now  in  their  infancy  is  shown  in  the  statis- 
tical statement  that  in  1884  the  territory  shipped  10,101 
cases  of  four  dozen  i-lb.  cans,  and  1,527  barrels  of  salted 
salmon,  each  barrel  containing  thirty  fish.  The  cannery 
near  Sitka  put  up  700  barrels.  There  were  also  shipped 
large  quantities  of  halibut,  herring,  cod,  rock  cod  and  her- 
ring oil,  and  the  year  1885  would  have  shown  still  better 
results  but  for  a  depression  in  prices  which  made  the  labor 
unprofitable.  Notable  among  other  establishments  is  the 
Chilkat  cannery,  situated  in  59  deg.  13  min.  north  latitude, 
which  is  well  up  toward  the  frigid  zone,  but  warmed  like 
the  rest  of  the  Alaskan  coast  by  the  Japan  current,  or  Kuro- 
Siwo,  which  corresponds  to  the  gulf  stream  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. I  dare  say  that  no  commercial  company  in  the  world 
ever  found  its  way  to  a  nook  of  earth  so  ineffably  roman^ 
tic  ;  for  the  grandeur  of  the  surrounding  scenery  is 
supreme.  Parallel  ranges  of  snow-capped  mountains  of 
majestic  height  inclose  a  narrow  strait,  whose  waters  are 
deep  and  green,  and  seldom  disturbed  by  the  storms  which 
beat  the  outer  wall.  High  up  in  the  bluest  empyrean  the 
glittering  peaks  flash  to  each  other  the  reflections  of  the 
noonday  sun,  and  where  the  silvery  summer  clouds  rest 
upon  the  summits  the  eye  can  scarcely  distinguish  the 
fleecy  vapor  from  the  spectral  snow.  Below  the  timber 
line  their  sides  are  clothed  with  fir  and  hemlock,  and  in  the 
dark  waters  under  the  shadow  of  their  confronting  but- 
tresses the  salmon  are  continually  tossing  the  spray,  so  that 
the  surface  fairly  boils.  Through  one  of  the  clefts  of  the 
mountains  the  sparkling  Chilkat  River  leaps  over  the 
obstructing  rocks  in  a  succession  of  pools  and  rapids,  and 
upon  the  point  of  rocks  at  its  mouth  the  cannery  stands. 
Perched  upon  a  ledge  so  narrow  that  the  wharves  and  fish- 
ing stages  can  scarcely  keep  a  foothold  above  the  tide,  it 
looks  out  toward  a  long  vista  of  headlands,  whose  clear-cut 
outlines  are  set  against  the  sky  in  graduated  shades  of 
blue,  as  they  recede  and  overlap  each  other.  And  out  of 
another  great  rift  the  famous  Davidson  glacier  presses 
toward  the  sea,  filling  a  valley  four  miles  wide  ;  and  the 
masses  of  ice,  which  are  successively  pushed  to  the  front 
and  break  off,  float  away  with  the  recurring  tides,  and 
chassez  up  and  down  the  landlocked  channel  until  they 
finally  melt  away  or  drift  out  into  the  ocean.  On  a  beach 
near  by  is  a  village  of  Indian  employes,  with  the  usual 
adjuncts  of  half-dried  salmon  spread  on  the  rocks,  rueful 
dogs,  and  log  canoes  drawn  up  on  shore  and  carefully  pro- 
tected from  the  weather  by  boughs  and  blankets  when  not 


T32  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

in  use.  Cray  and  white  gulls  fill  the  upper  air,  or  sit  on 
the  drifting  icebergs  and  scream,  while  large  wisps  of  sand- 
peeps  flit  constantly  from  point  to  point,  feeding  on  the 
land-wash.  In  hours  of  toil  the  foreground  is  active  with  the 
movements  of  the  canoes  and  boats  hauling  seines.  This 
location  is  also  known  as  "Pyramid  Harbor." 

Captain  Beardslce,  U.S.N.,  while  on  this  station,  wrote : 
"  One  day  I  jumped  in  with  Tom  McCawley,  one  of  the 
most  experienced  salmon  seiners,  and  got  him  to  show  me 
how  it  was  done.  Our  boat,  rowed  by  four  untiring 
Indians,  had  already  a  ton  at  least  of  fish  just  taken,  but  there 
was  room  for  another,  and  McCawley  wanted  it.  We  rowed 
slowly  around  the  various  islands  for  an  hour  with  no  suc- 
cess ;  the  tide  was  high,  the  day  too  bright ;  none  were 
jumping.  We  pulled  into  a  quiet,  pleasant,  little  cove  and 
lunched  ;  the  Indians  preparing  for  us  a  good  pot  of  coffee, 
of  which  they  are  very  fond,  when  well  sweetened.  With 
plenty  of  it,  hard  bread  and  smoked  salmon,  they  can  work 
forever.  As  we  lay  on  the  grass  with  our  pipes,  an  Indian 
called  out  'Fish!  '  and  pointed  to  a  spot  in  the  channel  but  a 
short  way  off.  Soon  another  leaped,  and  in  a  moment  we 
were  in  and  off.  I  saw  the  fish  jump,  and,  after  a  little 
time,  another,  or,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  the  same  one.  I 
didn't  think  much  of  that  school  ;  but  when  I  said  so,  the 
Indians  answered  '  Tshugatahen '  (plenty),  and  Tom  said  : 
'  When  one  jumps,  there's  a  hundred  under  him  that 
don't  ;  '  and  that  was  news  to  me,  for  I  expected  to  see  the 
whole  school  at  once,  as  one  does  porpoises.  Pulling  for 
the  shore,  fifty  yards  to  the  left  of  them,  one  end  of  the 
seine  was  landed  and  held  by  the  crew  of  one  of  the  boats 
(there  were  two),  while  the  other  rapidly  pulled  around  the 
apparently  deserted  spot ;  the  hundred  yards  were  soon 
placed,  and  '  Haul  in  !  '  was  the  order.  I  tended  boat,  our 
crew  having  also  landed,  and  made  fast  to  the  outer  row  of 
corks,  and  was  drawn  in  with  them,  peering  anxiously  into 
the  diminishing  circle.  Soon  I  saw  bright  streaks  darting 
rapidly  to  and  fro,  and  then  a  dozen  in  the  air  glistening 
in  the  sunshine.  The  pool  diminished,  and  a  solid  mass  of 
plunging  fish  became  visible  ;  not  one  leaped  over  the  corks  ; 
they  dove  as  they  approached  the  wall  of  net,  rising  in 
the  center  for  convulsive  leaps.  In  a  few  moments  two 
tons  of  salmon,  weighing  five  to  twenty  pounds  each,  were 
huddled  together  in  a  six-foot  circle,  and  into  this  the 
Indians  who  were  not  holding  net,  dashed  blow  after  blow 
of  short,  stout  gaff  hooks,  jerking  out  with  every  dash  a 
salmon — they  simply  '  fired  at  the  flock,'  and  never  missed. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  133 

A  jerk  over  the  gunwales,  and  the  noble  fish  lay  heaped  up, 
gasping  and  struggling.  This  was  in  July;  nearly  all  of 
the  fish  were  good,  and,  according  to  McCawley,  there  were 
five  varieties  in  the  catch.  A  few  which  had  begun  to 
'dog'  were  cast  into  the  canoe  of  an  old  Indian  who 
accompanied  us,  and  who  had  gleaned  quite  a  canoe  load  of 
such  as  are  considered  unsuitable  for  canning." 

Heavily  laden  canoes  bring  the  still  struggling  fish  to  the 
lift  which  hoists  them  to  the  cleaning  table,  where  women 
dexterously  sever  the  heads,  cut  off  the  fins  and  tails  and 
draw  the  entrails,  and  then  divide  the  bright  red  flesh  into 
pieces  of  a  proper  size  to  fit  the  cans.  Boys  solder  the  tins, 
which  are  then  put  into  boilers  with  their  contents,  and 
afterward  resoldered,  labeled  and  packed.  Thus  whole 
families  are  employed,  the  labor  being  divided  among  them 
according  to  their  ability  to  perform.  For  their  own  use  the 
Indians  dry  the  salmon  on  the  rocks  in  the  sun,  no  salt  being 
used.  Their  store-houses  are  often  placed  in  the  branches 
of  trees,  sometimes  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  ground,  it 
is  said,  with  a  view  to  keep  them  from  the  ravages  of  blow- 
flies and  other  pests.  Many  of  these  houses  will  hold  sev- 
eral tons,  and  are  used  by  a  number  of  families  in  common; 
they  are  reached  by  notched  poles,  which  are  admirable  sub- 
stitutes for  ladders.  Some  persons  assert  that  the  custom 
of  placing  the  boxes  high  is  to  keep  them  from  dogs  and 
wild  animals,  but  the  Indians  assign  only  the  one  reason 
given.  I  have  seen  the  same  method  employed  elsewhere, 
by  both  Indians  and  white  men.  A  spent  salmon — a  '  dog  ' 
salmon,  as  it  is  termed — after  spawning,  is  a  sight  to  see  ! 
I  found  one  in  shoal  water  some  two  feet  long,  as  thin  as  a 
slab,  feebly  struggling  as  though  he  were  trying  to  push 
himself  ashore.  I  picked  him  up  and  landed  him  on  the 
grass.  A  sicker  fish  never  continued  to  wag  its  tail.  His 
skin  was  yellow,  picked  out  with  green  and  blue  spots  (such 
as  a  good  recoiler  will  leave  on  your  arm  after  an  all-day 
shoot).  Spots  from  the  size  of  a  bit  to  that  of  a  dollar,  and 
one  about  an  inch  wide  and  six  long  on  his  side,  were  raw 
as  if  gnawed  out  by  mice.  One  eye  was  gone,  one  gill 
cover  eaten  through,  and  every  fin  and  his  tail  were  but 
ragged  bristles,  all  integument  between  the  rays  having 
disappeared.  No  wonder  the  legend  arose  that  all  Cali- 
fornia salmon  die  immediately  after  spawning.  The  Creoles 
and  Indians  catch  daily  great  numbers  of  these  sick  fish 
with  their  gaffs,  and  they  consider  that  they  are  better  eat- 
ing when  dried  than  the  healthy  fish. 

The  quantities  of  salmon  found  in  Alaska  are  simply 


X34  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

enormous.  I  have  watched  the  movements  of  Eastern 
salmon  in  the  most  prolific  rivers  of  Canada  during  their 
spawning  season,  but  have  nowhere  found  them  in  such 
compacted  masses  as  they  appear  in  Pacific  waters.  Only 
where  dams  or  natural  falls  obstructed  their  free  passage 
were  they  sufficiently  crowded,  in  those  Canadian  rivers,  to 
interfere  at  all  with  each  other,  or  with  the  comfortable 
ascent  to  the  upper  streams  ;  they  had  always  elbow-room 
for  acrobatic  leaps  and  somersaults.  On  the  Pacific  coast 
their  numbers  are  incalculably  greater — perhaps  a  hundred 
fold.  During  the  period  of  their  annual  mid-summer 
"  runs  "  they  swim  in  schools  ten  feet  deep  or  more,  with 
ranks  closed  up  solid.  Only  those  of  our  Eastern  fishermen 
who  are  familiar  with  the  swarming  of  mossbunkers,  herring 
and  bluefish  can  have  any  conception  of  their  multitudes. 

Of  course  we  are  all  accustomed  to  the  current  stories  of 
their  innumerable  hosts  out  West,  yet  I  will  deliberately 
strain  the  credulity  of  the  reader  by  over-reaching  state- 
ments far  more  marvelous  and  declare  that  in  Alaska  the 
salmon  jam  the  estuaries  and  inlets  sp  that  they  can  not 
move  at  all  !  I  have  seen  the  outlet  of  Lake  Loring,  which 
is  a  rivulet  two  miles  long  and  two  rods  wide,  connecting 
the  salt  water  with  the  fresh,  so  choked  with  living  salmon 
that  if  a  plank  were  laid  across  their  protruding  backs  a  man 
could  walk  across  dry  shod.  It  is  so  with  other  similar 
localities.  On  the  southwestern  coast  the  mountains  rise 
from  the  ocean  quite  abruptly,  so  that  there  are  but  two 
rivers  of  any  considerable  length  which  cut  their  way  through 
the  granite  ridges  from  the  interior  ;  but  the  melting  of  the 
snows  upon  the  peaks  fills  all  the  valleys  and  pockets  bor- 
dering upon  the  coast,  forming  picturesque  lakes  whose 
outlets  reach  the  ocean  through  short  rugged  channels  worn 
deeply  into  the  rocks.  The  tide  there  rises  some  eighteen 
feet,  and  when  it  is  low  the  outflow  of  the  lakes  makes  its 
romantic  journey  to  the  brine  by  a  series  of  rapids  and 
tempting  pools,  where  brook  trout  of  two  varieties  can  be 
caught  with  a  bait  of  salmon  roe,  or  even  with  a  fly,  afford- 
ing good  sport  to  the  angler.  But  whenever  the  tide  begins 
to  make,  the  whole  vicinity  of  the  outlet  at  once  swarms 
with  impatient  salmon,  and  as  the  channel  gradually  fills 
with  the  growing  flood  the  schools  press  inward  and  upward 
from  outside,  until,  finally,  when  the  tide  is  full,  the  stream 
becomes  a  slack-water  channel  reaching  from  the  salt  water 
to  the  very  border  of  the  lakes,  of  which  every  cubic  foot  is 
choked  with  fish  wedged  tightly.  No  theater  lobby  on  a 
benefit  night,  nor  sheep  van  on  a  transportation  line,  was 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  135 

ever  packed  more  solid.  In  such  extremity  the  helpless 
salmon  become  an  easy  prey  to  animals  and  men.  One  can 
lift  them  out  with  his  hands  until  he  is  tired.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  thrust  a  spear  or  boat-hook  into  the  mass,  and 
of  course  a  fish  must  come  out  whenever  it  is  withdrawn. 
Bears  take  their  opportunity  to  scoop  them  out  with  their 
great  paws,  and  when  they  have  regaled  themselves  to 
satiety  they  retire  to  the  adjacent  thickets  for  a  dessert  of 
berries  which  grow  there  in  great  abundance  and  variety. 
Of  course  a  great  many  salmon  get  into  the  lakes  at  every 
tide,  but  after  each  recession  multitudes  are  stranded,  of 
which  the  lustiest  flop  back  into  the  ocean,  while  the  maimed 
and  hapless  remain  dead  and  stranded  on  the  denuded 
rocks. 

It  is  said  that  salmon  were  exceptionally  numerous  on  the 
Alaska  coast  in  the  two  years  just  past,  but  there  seems  to 
be  no  doubt  that  they  are  always  more  abundant  there  than 
in  the  more  southern  latitudes  of  British  Columbia  and  Ore- 
gon ;  and  they  swarm  clear  across  the  Behring  Strait  to  the 
coast  of  Siberia  and  down  to  Japan,  filling  all  the  waters 
with  their  incalculable  numbers.  In  the  vicinity  of  such 
hosts  the  problem  of  bait  disappears.  Salmon  enough  can 
be  bought  there  for  a  dime  to  furnish  bait  for  five  thousand 
pounds  of  halibut  or  cod,  and  if  some  enterprising  Yankee 
will  only  turn  his  attention  to  the  opportunity  w:iich  the 
Alaskan  waters  offer,  he  can  supply  every  Atlantic  fisher- 
man with  bait  and  freeze  out  the  Kanucks  so  that  they  will 
never  seize  any  more  fishing  vessels  for  violation  of  their 
obnoxious  laws. 

The  halibut  of  Alaska  are  bound  to  be  a  source  of  large 
revenue,  although  at  present  the  fishery  is  in  its  infancy. 
Great  numbers  are  taken  from  the  numerous  banks  along 
the  coast  ;  they  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  sometimes  reach- 
ing five  hundred  pounds  in  weight.  Captain  Morrissey,  of 
San  Francisco,  in  the  year  1880,  filled  up  the  schooner 
General  Miller  in  less  than  a  month  on  the  banks  off  Sitka, 
taking  one  hundred  tons  of  halibut  at  the  rate  of  7,000 
pounds  per  day.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that  this 
business  will  be  some  day  followed  up  with  profit,  especially 
in  view  of  the  remarkable  depletion  of  the  Atlantic  fish- 
eries, which,  in  1885,  were  reduced  to  one-fourth  their 
former  proportions  ;  of  which  Prof.  Goode,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  has  written  as  follows  : 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  these  fish  were 
exceedingly  abundant  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  From  1830  to 
1850,  and  even  later,  they  were  extremely  abundant  on 


136  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

George's  banks  ;  since  1850  they  have  partially  disappeared 
from  this  region  ;  the  fishermen  have  recently  been  following 
them  to  other  banks,  and,  since  1874,  out  into  deeper  and 
deeper  water,  and  the  fisheries  are  now.carried  on  almost 
exclusively  in  the  gullies  between  the  off-shore  banks  and  on 
the  outer  edges  of  the  banks  in  water  100  to  350  fathoms  in 
depth.  The  species  has,  in  like  manner,  been  driven  from 
the  shallow  fishing  grounds  on  the  coast  of  Europe  ;  there 
is,  however,  little  reason  to  doubt  that  they  still  are  present 
in  immense  numbers  within  easy  access  off  the  British  and 
Scandinavian  coasts,  and  that  a  good  fishery  will  yet  grow 
up  when  the  fishermen  of  those  countries  shall  have  become 
more  enterprising.  In  the  year  1879  there  were  forty  vessels, 
of  3,168  tons,  from  Gloucester,  Mass.,  employed  exclusively 
in  the  fresh  halibut  fishery.  The  total  catch  of  halibut  on 
the  New  England  coast  for  1879  is  estimated  at  14,637,000 
pounds. 

"  In  1885,  the  halibut  fleet  of  Gloucester  is  reduced  to  one- 
fourth  of  its  former  size,  and  the  total  catch  is  estimated  at 
from  three  to  five  million  pounds.  By  this  token  it  is  evi- 
dent that  ere  long  our  chief  supply  will  come  from  the 
waters  of  Greenland  and  Iceland,  where  several  vessels 
already  go  each  year  to  bring  back  cargoes  of  salt 
'flitches.'  "  * 

But  why  go  to  the  British  and  Scandinavian  coasts,  or  to 
the  waters  of  Greenland  and  Iceland,  when  Alaska  is  so 
convenient,  the  cost  of  bait  almost  nothing,  the  transit 
across  the  continent  so  rapid,  and  refrigerators  so  complete  ? 
If  we  have  fresh  Pacific  salmon  in  our  eastern  markets,  why 
not  fresh  halibut  as  well,  that  the  species  may  remain 
"familiar?"  If  salt  fish  are  required,  or  halibut  fins,  salt 
can  perhaps  be  manufactured  on  the  coast  from  sea  water 
by  evaporation,  as  it  now  is  at  places  on  the  California  sea- 
board ;  or  the  halibut  can  be  sun-dried  or  smoked.  Salmon 
are  used  for  bait.  The  Indians  are  adepts  at  taking  these 
great  fish.  They  do  not  fish  from  the  canoes,  but  set  lines 
which  are  attached  to  floats — generally  bladders — to  which 
are  fastened  little  flags  on  staffs.  Among  a  group  of  them 
the  fisherman  watches,  and  when  the  hooked  fish  has 
exhausted  itself  towing  the  float,  he  is  secured.  It  is  very 
exhilarating  to  the  novice  to  see  the  floats,  when  a  fish  is 
on,  go  diving  and  darting  through  the  water  at  the  rate  of 

*  By  1907  the  halibut  industry  of  the  Atlantic  had  been  almost 
entirely  transferred  to  the  Alaska  coast.  Gloucester  fishermen 
have  establishments  all  along  the  Pacric  shore  now,  but  the  catch 
goes  east  to  Boston,  for  the  most  part  over  the  C.  P.  R. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  137 

ten  knots  an  hour.  The  hook  is  a  native  contrivance, 
which  is  far  more  efficient  than  any  shop-rig,  made  usually 
of  two  pieces  of  tough  wood,  each  about  eleven  inches  long, 
beveled  at  the  ends,  so  that  when  joined  and  seized  with 
twine  or  sinew,  they  form  a  < ,  or  angle,  with  an  opening  five 
inches  wide;  an  iron  spike  passes  through  the  lower  jaw, 
inclining  inwardly,  the  upper  jaw  of  the  hook  serving  as  a 
guide  to  the  jaw  of  the  fish,  which  can  not  be  withdrawn 
without  catching  on  the  point  of  the  spike.  A  fish  which 
once  takes  hold,  seldom  gets  away. 

In  1884  Captain  Exon,  of  Portland,  Oregon,  equipped  a 
vessel  for  deep  sea-fishing,  with  the  prosecution  of  which  he 
was  familiar,  but  had  hardly  demonstrated  the  value  of  this 
method,  and  the  abundance  of  fish  where  sought,  before 
he  was  unfortunately  drowned.  Other  practical  men  are 
now  investigating  the  subject  with  the  purpose  of  prose- 
cuting the  business  to  a  profitable  result  if  they  find  the 
conditions  as  favorable  as  they  believe  them  to  be.  There 
are  also  a  few  San  Francisco  fishermen  who  visit  the  Alaska 
coast  for  cod,  of  which  they  salt  some  2,000  tons  annually. 

Another  newly  introduced  industry  is  the  manufacture 
of  fish  oil  for  dressing  leather  and  preparing  jute  for  market. 
The  first  factory  of  the  kind  was  established  at  Kilsinoo, 
last  spring,  by  the  Northwest  Trading  Company,  and  a  ship- 
ment of  20,000  barrels  was  made  in  September  last,  of 
which  12,000  barrels  went  the  long  distance  to  New  York  ; 
but  it  will  not  be  long  before  there  will  be  many  oil  factories 
on  the  Alaska  coast,  for  all  the  bays  and  estuaries  swarm 
with  oil-producing  fish,  and  the  product  is  limited  only  by 
the  capacity  of  the  works  and  the  supply  of  casks.  This 
company  expects  to  manufacture  300,000  gallons  this 
season — equal  to  a  hundred  car-loads.  At  Skidegate,  on  the 
British  Columbian  coast,  there  is  a  factory  for  extracting 
oil  from  the  livers  of  dogfish,  whose  output  this  year  is 
50,000  gallons.  This  oil  is  admitted  to  be  superior  to  any 
other  kind  as  a  lubricant.  It  is  shipped  chiefly  to  the 
United  States,  where  it  pays  a  duty  of  25  per  cent.,  though 
small  quantities  are  consumed  in  the  Province,  or  sent  to 
Honolulu  and  China.  In  another  year  or  so  this  industry 
will  probably  establish  itself  on  the  Alaska  coast  as  well, 
and  thereby  save  the  duty. 

The  foregoing  summary  refers  to  the  meager  fishing 
industries  of  Alaska  in  the  beginning  but  I  will  show,  in  the 
statements  that  follow,  what  enormous  possibilities  of  lucra- 
tive employment  and  revenue  lie  in  the  immediate  future. 
Certainly  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  are  far  more  prolific  of 


1^8  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

fish  and  other  marine  forms  than  the  Atlantic,  or  even  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  For  not  only  do  we  find  the  sea  lion,  the 
fur  seal,  the  sea  otter,  and  other  exceptional  forms  of  marine 
life  in  vast  numbers,  but  we  find  the  cod,  the  torn-cod,  the 
halibut,  the  herring,  the  flounder,  the  salmon,  the  sea-trout 
of  the  same  or  closely  related  species,  common  to  the 
Atlantic  coast ;  and  we  find  them  differing  in  size,  many 
larger  and  frequently  more  abundant,  but  dissimilar  in 
color  and  flavor — and,  beside  these,  a  great  many  varieties 
unknown  to  Atlantic  waters,  and  of  especial  economic 
value.  Principal  among  the  latter  are  the  sculpins,  the 
scorpamids,  sebastichthydae,  and  the  embiotocoid  or  vivi- 
parous fishes,  which  comprise  a  great  number  of  species. 
At  the  same  time  it  may  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  are 
many  Atlantic  fishes,  like  the  blackfish,  cunner,  striped  bass, 
porgy,  sheepshead,  bluefish,  etc.,  which  have  no  analogues 
on  the  Pacific.  The  viviparous  fish  maybe  said  to  be  some- 
what intermediate  in  external  appearance,  as  they  are  in 
structure,  between  the  labrids  and  the  sparids,  but  they  are 
readily  recognizable  and  distinguished  from  all  others  by 
ichthyologists.  In  reproduction  they  develop  a  uterus-like 
envelope,  which  incloses  the  young  fish  to  the  number  of 
from  seven  or  eight  to  forty,  and  these  are  hatched  out  at 
maturity  just  like  a  litter  of  kittens  or  mice.  The  family  is 
characteristic  of  the  western  coast,  only  two  or  three  species 
being  known  to  ocean  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Pacific  coast 
of  temperate  North  America,  and  these  few  only  on  the 
opposite  coast  of  the  Pacific  in  the  northern  temperate 
region,  and  possibly  in  the  opposite  hemisphere  in  the  tem- 
perate seas  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia.  The  numerous 
varieties  of  sebastichthys  are  locally  known  as  "  rock-cod," 
but  they  have  not  the  remotest  relation  to  the  family 
Gadidce.  There  are  no  less  than  twenty-eight  of  them  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  of  which  six  are  found  in  Alaskan  waters. 
Several  of  them  are  highly  colored  and  very  beautiful — 
bright  scarlet,  banded  yellow  and  black,  pink-spotted,  etc. 
Indeed,  the  fish  of  the  Pacific  are  more  highly  colored  as  a 
rule  than  their  congeners  of  the  Atlantic,  a  characteristic 
equally  true  of  most  of  the  marine  forms — animals,  mollusks, 
crustaceans,  plants,  etc.,  as  well  as  of  the  land  flora  and 
fauna,  the  fruits,  vegetables,  shrubs,  trees,  and  flowers. 
One  of  the  rockfish  just  referred  to  very  closely  resembles 
the  Florida  red  snapper  in  color  and  general  appearance, 
though  the  structural  differences  are  quite  apparent  when 
specimens  of  each  are  examined  side  by  side.  As  a  class 
they  are  good  edible  fish.     Most  of  them  are  caught  in  deep 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  141 

water  on  rocky  ledges,  a  half  mile  or  so  from  shore,  often 
in  thirty  fathoms,  with  hard  clams,  crabs  or  fresh  meat  for 
bait,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  determine  whenever  the  fisher- 
man swings  off  from  a  ledge,  for  the  fish  stop  biting,  a  fact 
which  shows  how  important  it  is  to  ascertain  and  keep  the 
exact  location  of  their  feeding  grounds.  Besides  these 
there  are  many  kinds  of  fishes  not  at  all  related  to  this 
family,  or  to  each  other,  which  are  called  rock-cod.  One 
such,  which  is  familiarly  known  in  Alaska  as  the  black-cod, 
rock-cod,  and  coal-fish,  is  likely  to  form  a  valuable  addition 
to  our  list  of  economic  fishes,  and  may  well  fill  the  place  of 
substitute  for  some  other  kinds  which  may  have  become  or 
may  become  scarce.  No  one  has  labored  half  so  hard  to 
secure  the  introduction  of  this  estimable  fish  into  our 
markets  as  the  Hon.  James  G.  Swan,  who  is  the  Hawaiian 
consul  at  Port  Townsend,  Washington  Territory,  and  a 
veteran  correspondent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ;  and 
I  regard  it  fortunate  for  the  integrity  of  this  chapter  of  my 
volume  that  I  find  available  for  republication  here  an 
admirable  report  of  the  habits,  habitat,  and  quality  of  the 
black-cod  from  the  Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Fisheries 
Commission,  and  from  which  I  cull  the  following  extracts. 
[Scientifically    the   fish   is  known  as  Anoplopoma  fimbria.} 

The  report  says  : 

"The  Anoplopoma  fimbria  is  known  in  California  as  the 
candle-fish,  Spanish  mackerel,  grease-fish,  etc.;  among  the 
Makah  Indians  of  Cape  Flattery,  Wash.,  as  '  beshow,'  and 
by  the  white  residents  of  the  cape  as  '  black-cod.'  On 
Queen  Charlotte's  Islands,  British  Columbia,  it  is  called 
'  coal-fish  '  by  white  settlers,  and  by  the  Haidah  Indians,  who 
reside  on  those  Islands,  it  is  called  '  skil.'  At  Knight's  In- 
let, British  Columbia,  it  is  called  '  kwakewlth.'  Each  tribe  or 
locality  where  it  is  taken  has  a  local  name  for  it,  but  it  is  gen- 
erally known  as  black  cod.  The  scientific  name,  anoplopoma 
fimbria,  has  been  adopted  by  Gill,  Jordan  and  Gilbert,  and 
most  other  writers,  although  a  specimen  taken  off  Mount 
Saint  Elias,  Alaska,  was  named  by  Pallas  Gadus  fimbria 
(Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Museum,  1881,  vol.  4,  p.  254),  thus  showing 
that  its  resemblance  to  the  cod  was  observed  by  that  nat- 
uralist. The  term  '  cod  '  is  applied  by  fishermen  and  fish- 
dealers  on  the  North  Pacific  coast  to  a  variety  of  fish  which 
are  not  related  to  the  genus  Gadus,  and  are  not  found  in 
Atlantic  waters.  The  Ophidon  elongatus  is  called  in  San 
Francisco,  buffalo  cod,  Green  cod,  blue  cod,  etc.  At  Cape 
Flattery  the  Makah  Indians  call  it '  tooshkow.'  The  whites 
call  it  '  kultus '  cod,  or  inferior  to  true  cod.     The  different 


142  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

varieties  of  Sebastichthys  are  known  in  the  Victoria  and  San 
Francisco  markets  as  rock-cod,  but  do  not  resemble  the 
rock-cod  of  New  England  in  any  manner,  being  more  like 
the  perch,  having  a  remarkable  development  of  sharp  bony 
spines  and  prickles.  The  popular  name  of  black-cod  ap- 
plied to  the  A noplopoma  fimbria  does  not  seem  any  more  of 
a  misnomer  than  to  call  the  Ophidon  elongatus  blue  or  green 
cod.  In  general  appearance  the  black-cod  resembles  a  pol- 
lock, but  when  fully  grown  they  have  the  rounded  form  of 
a  true  cod,  but  are  not  so  marked.  In  color  they  are  a 
dark  olive  brown  or  sepia  on  the  back,  with  grayish  sides 
and  belly;  the  flesh  is  white  and  very  fat,  like  mackerel,  and 
they  have  been  sold  in  San  Francisco  under  the  name  of 
Spanish  mackerel  when  of  small  size.  Professor  Jordan 
says:  'The  young  ones  are  taken  off  the  wharves  at 
Seattle,  but  are  not  much  thought  of  as  a  food-fish .  It  attains 
its  greatest  perfection  in  very  deep  water,  where  it  attains 
a  size  of  40  inches,  and  a  weight  of  15  pounds.  Instances  are 
not  uncommon  of  black-cod  being  taken  measuring  50 
inches  and  weighing  30  pounds,  but  the  average  is  much 
less  than  this  last.  But  it  is  an  admitted  rule  that  the 
deeper  the  water  the  larger  the  fish.' 

"  Although  I  have  the  credit  of  first  introducing  this  fish 
in  a  marketable  shape  to  the  public,  yet  it  has  been  known 
to  the  officers  and  employes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
for  many  years,  but  was  seldom  seen  on  their  tables  ;  the 
enormous  quantities  of  salmon,  eulachon,  herring,  cod, 
halibut  and  other  fish,  easily  and  plentifully  taken,  made  it 
unnecessary  to  incur  the  trouble  of  fishing  in  the  deep 
water  for  the  black-cod.  The  first  I  saw  of  them  was  atjjNeah 
Bay,  Wash.  Terr.,  at  the  entrance  of  Fuca  Strait,  in  1859. 
An  old  Indian  caught  a  few  when  fishing  for  halibut.  I 
procured  one,  which  I  broiled,  and  found  it  equal  to  a  No.  1 
mackerel.  I  have  occasionally  seen  the  '  beshow  '  every 
summer  that  I  have  been  at  Neah  Bay  since  1859,  but  I 
have  never  had  an  opportunity  to  get  any  quantity  of  them 
till  in  September,  1883,  while  at  Skidegate,  Queen  Charlotte's 
Islands,  which  I  visited  under  instructions  from  Professor 
Spencer  F.  Baird.  I  succeeded  in  procuring  about  100  of 
them.  The  Haidah  Indians  take  them  in  considerable 
quantities  on  the  west  coast  of  the  group  of  islands, 
in  the  deep  waters  of  the  inlets  and  harbors,  for  the  purpose 
of  extracting  the  oil  or  grease,  which  is  used  as  food  by  the 
natives,  and  is  similar  in  appearance  to  the  eulachon  grease, 
which  is  of  the  color  and  consistency  of  soft  lard.  From 
Montery  to  the  Arctic  ocean  the  Anoplopoma  is  found.     It 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  143 

feeds  on  crustaceans,  worms  and  small  fish.  Hitherto  it  has 
not  been  introduced  among  the  whites  as  a  food-fish,  owing 
to  the  superstitious  prejudice  of  some  tribes  against  fishing 
for  them  to  sell. 

"  A  lot  I  took  to  Victoria  dry-salted  in  boxes  were  the  first 
ever  seen  in  a  merchantable  condition  in  that  city,  and  the 
four  boxes  I  sent  to  the  United  States  Fish  Commission 
are  the  first  ever  exported  from  the  Province  of  British 
Columbia,  a  fact  to  which  special  reference  was  made  by  the 
collector  of  customs  of  Victoria  in  his  quarterly  report  to  the 
Minister  of  Finances  in  Ottawa. 

"  As  the  Haidah  Indians  seem  to  be  the  only  ones  who 
make  a  business  of  taking  the  black-cod  or  '  skil,'  I  will 
confine  myself  to  a  description  of  a  method  adopted  by  them. 
The  fish  lines  used  in  the  capture  of  the  black-cod  are 
made  of  kelp,  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  the  Makahs,  of 
Cape  Flattery,  and  other  tribes  on  the  northwest  coast. 
This  giant  kelp  the  Nereocystis  (Harvey)  is  of  the  order 
Laminariaccz,  and  is  of  much  larger  dimensions  than  the 
Fucaccce,  the  fronds  being  measured  by  fathoms,  not  feet. 
Some  of  these  plants,  it  is  said,  when  fully  grown,  have  a 
stem  measuring  300  feet  in  length.  These  grow  where  the 
water  is  rapid,  and  have  to  extend  to  a  great  length  before 
their  buoyancy  will  permit  them  to  reach  the  surface.  For 
about  two-thirds  of  this  length  from  the  root  up,  the  stem 
is  about  the  size  of  a  halibut  line.  It  then  expands  till  at 
the  extremity  it  assumes  a  pear-shaped  hollow  head,  capa- 
ble of  holding  a  quart,  and  from  which  extends  a  tuft  of 
upward  of  fifty  leaves,  lanceolate  in  form,  each  of  which  is 
from  40  to  50  feet  long.  The  slender  stem  is  of  prodigious 
strength,  and  is  prepared  by  the  natives  for  use  as  fol- 
lows :  The  stems  being  cut  off  a  uniform  length,  generally 
15  or  25  fathoms  each,  are  placed  in  running  fresh  water 
till  they  become  bleached  and  all  the  salt  is  extracted. 
They  are  then  stretched  and  partially  dried  in  the  open  air, 
then  coiled  up  and  hung  in  the  smoke  of  a  lodge  for  a  short 
time.  Then  they  are  wet  and  stretched  again  and  knotted  to- 
gether. This  process  is  continued  at  regular  intervals  till 
the  kelp  stems  become  tough  and  as  strong  as  the  best  hemp 
line  of  the  same  size.  After  using,  it  is  always  coiled  up, 
but  as  it  gets  brittle  if  allowed  to  dry  too  much  it  is  inva- 
riably soaked  in  salt  water  before  being  used.  The  hooks 
used  are  of  a  peculiar  shape,  unlike  any  fish-hook  I  have 
ever  seen;  they  are  made  of  the  knots  or  butts  of  limbs  of 
the  hemlock,  cut  out  from  old  decayed  logs.  These  knots 
are  split  into  splints  of  proper  size,  then  roughly  shaped 


144  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

with  a  knife,  and  then  steamed  and  bent  into  shape,  which 
shape  they  retain  when  cold.  This  form  is  adopted,  so  the 
Indian  informed  me,  because  the  bottom  on  the  west  coast 
is  very  foul  with  stones  and  coral  formations  and  incrus- 
tations ;  steel  hooks  get  fast,  and  lines  are  subject  to  being 
lost ;  but  this  style  of  hook  does  not  get  fast. 

"  When  the  hook  is  to  be  used  the  bait  is  tied  on  with  the 
string-  which  is  used  to  bring  the  two  ends  of  the  hook 
together  and  keep  them  in  position  when  not  baited.  After 
the  bait  is  well  secured  a  piece  of  stick  is  inserted  to  press 
the  ends  of  the  hook  apart.  When  the  fish  bites  the  bait  it 
knocks  out  the  stick,  which  floats  to  the  surface,  the  two 
ends  of  the  hook,  springing  together,  close  on  the  fish's  head 
and  hold  it  fast.  It  is  usual  to  tie  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  hooks  to  the  line,  at  a  distance  of  about  two  feet 
apart,  and  the  fish  are  so  plentiful  that  not  unfrequently  every 
hook  will  have  a  fish.  The  sticks  which  float  to  the  sur- 
face, when  knocked  out  of  the  hook  by  the  fish,  serve  to 
indicate  to  the  Indian  the  sort  of  luck  he  is  having  at  the 
bottom.  But  although  the  fish  maybe  abundant,  the  Indian 
is  not  always  sure  of  securing  what  he  has  caught.  His 
greatest  annoyance  is  the  ground-sharks  or  nurse-fish,  as 
the  sailors  call  them,  which  will  often  eat  the  bodies  of  the 
black-cod,  leaving  only  the  heads  attached  to  the  hooks. 
Another  annoyance  is  from  a  small  fish  called  by  the  Haidah 
Indians  '  nee-kaio-kaiung,'  the  Blepsias  cirrhosus  (Pallas) 
Gun.,  one  of  the  family  Cottidce,  which  steals  the  bait  and 
often  gets  hooked  ;  as  soon  as  the  Indian  discovers  this  pest 
he  quits  fishing  and  goes  to  another  place.  As  the  depth 
of  the  water  varies  in  different  places  it  is  usual  to  have  a 
lot  of  spare  lines  in  the  canoe  which  can  instantly  be  knotted 
together  and  form  a  line  as  long  as  required  ;  sometimes  two 
hundred  fathoms  will  be  used,  as  the  line  when  fully  supplied 
with  hooks  becomes  a  trawl.  A  most  ingenious  contrivance 
is  the  sinker  used  by  the  Haidahs  in  this  deep-water  fishing. 
This  is  a  stone,  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  in  weight.  A 
small  kelp  line  is  wound  round  this  stone  and  held  by  a 
bight  tucked  under  the  turns,  and  the  end  made  fast  to  the 
end  of  the  larger  line,  which  large  line  is  wound  round  this 
stone,  and  a  smaller  stone  which  serves  to  bind  it  fast  and 
as  a  sort  of  tripping  stone.  The  large  line  is  secured  in  a 
similar  manner  as  the  small  line,  by  a  loop  or  bight  tucked 
under  the  turns.  The  stone  is  then  lowered  to  the  bottom 
and  the  line  paid  out.  As  soon  as  the  fisherman  sees 
enough  pegs  floating  to  warrant  his  pulling  in  the  line  he 
gathers  in  the  slack  till  he  feels  the  weight  of  the  stone, 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  145 

when  he  gives  a  sudden  jerk,  which  pulls  out  the  bight  and 
loosens  the  tripping  stone,  which  falls  out  and  loosens  the 
big  stone,  which  in  turn  becomes  detached  from  the  line, 
which  is  then  pulled  in  relieved  of  the  weight  of  the 
sinker. 

"  On  my  arrival  at  Skidegate,  in  the  last  of  August,  1883, 
I  arranged  with  Mr.  Andrew  McGregor,  one  of  the  partners 
in  the  Skidegate,  to  send  some  Indians  to  the  west  coast  to 
procure  some  black-cod.  He  sent  four  Indians,  Scanayune, 
Ske-at-lung,  Ingow  and  Skatsgai,  who  all  belong  to  the 
Gold  Harbor  band  on  the  west  coast.  I  sent  a  sack  of  salt 
with  the  Indians,  with  instructions  to  take  out  the  gills, 
remove  the  viscera  without  splitting  the  fish,  and  then  fill 
the  cavity  with  salt,  which  was  done,  and  the  fish  were 
received  in  prime  condition.  On  the  2d  of  September 
Scanayune  returned  with  twenty  fine  fish.  A  council  was 
now  called  to  decide  the  best  way  to  split  them.  There  were 
a  number  of  eastern  fishermen  present,  who  were  the  crew 
of  the  little  steamer  Skidegate,  engaged  in  dog-fishing  for 
the  oil  works.  Some  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  fish  should 
be  split  in  the  back,  like  a  salmon  ;  but  I  objected,  as  I 
thought  people  would  say  they  were  the  white-flesh  dog- 
salmon  and  be  prejudiced,  so  I  had  them  split  and  dressed 
like  cod,  and  well  salted  in  a  vat.  But  now  my  trouble  com- 
menced. I  was  of  the  opinion,  as  were  all  the  others,  that 
the  fish  should  be  barreled  like  salmon  ;  but  we  had  no  bar- 
rels or  coopers,  and  the  question  was  how  to  get  them  to 
Victoria  without  rusting,  for  we  all  thought  that  so  fat  a 
fish  would  rust  like  a  mackerel  or  salmon.  At  last  I  recol- 
lected how  I  had  seen  halibut  treated  when  it  was  to  be 
smoked,  and  I  decided  on  that  plan.  After  the  fish  had 
been  in  salt  two  weeks  I  rinsed  them  in  the  pickle  they  had 
made,  and  piled  them  skin  side  up,  put  planks  and  heavy 
stones  on  them,  and  so  pressed  out  the  pickle.  After  they 
had  been  four  days  under  this  pressure  I  found  them  hard 
and  firm,  and  beautifully  white.  I  then  packed  them  in 
boxes,  which  I  made  for  the  purpose,  putting  twenty  fish  in 
each  box  and  filling  up  with  dry  salt.  My  intention  was  to 
repack  them  in  Victoria  and  put  them  in  barrels,  but  on 
examining  the  boxes  on  my  arrival  I  found  the  fish  in  such 
fine  condition  that  I  was  advised  by  experts  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  send  the  fish  forward  just  as  they  were  ; 
and  so  well  satisfied  were  the  officers  of  the  company  with 
the  plan  I  had  adopted  through  necessity,  that  the  chief 
factor,  William  Charles,  Esq.,  instructed  the  company's 
agent  at  Massett,  Mr.  McKenzie,  to  procure  all  the  black- 


146  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

cod  he  could  get  from  the  Indians,  to  cure  them  in  every 
respect  as  I  had  done,  and  to  pack  them  in  similar  pack- 
ages, as  it  was  thought  they  would  take  better  in  the  Lon- 
don market. 

"  I  tested  the  fresh  fish  in  every  manner  I  could  think  of. 
I  had  the  livers  and  we  fried  and  found  them  delicious.  The 
females  were  full  of  eggs,  which  I  found  very  small,  about 
the  size  of  herring  spawn.  This  was  the  first  of  September, 
but  I  had  no  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  spawning 
season  or  their  spawning  ground.  I  tried  the  tongues,  but 
did  not  like  them  as  well  as  cod-fish  tongues,  as  they  were 
quite  small.  The  fish  does  not  make  a  good  chowder,  as  it 
is  too  fat ;  the  heads,  however,  after  having  been  salted,  we 
found  made  excellent  chowder.  The  best  way  in  which 
the  fresh  fish  can  be  cooked  is  to  broil  it  like  fresh  mackerel, 
or  roast  it  before  the  open  fire  like  planked  shad.  After  it 
has  been  salted,  as  I  salted  those  I  put  up,  it  should  be 
cooked  by  first  soaking  till  the  salt  is  well  out,  then  simply 
boiled  and  served  with  plain  boiled  potatoes.  Made  into 
fish-balls  it  excels  any  fish  I  have  eaten.  On  the  6th  day  of 
October,  1883,  I  gave  George  Vienna,  the  fish  dealer  on 
Government  street,  Victoria,  one  of  the  black-cod,  which  he 
hung  up  in  his  stall  for  every  one  to  examine.  On  the  18th 
day  of  December  I  examined  the  same  fish,  which  had  been 
exposed  to  the  weather  in  the  stall  all  the  time,  and  it  was 
perfectly  sweet.  Mr.  Vienna  said  it  never  would  rust ;  it 
was  too  well  salted.  A  gentleman  of  Victoria,  who  had 
eaten  of  the  black-cod  heartily  on  several  occasions,  told 
me  that  he  is  unable  to  eat  either  salt  salmon  or  mackerel, 
as  the  oil  of  these  fish  does  not  agree  with  his  digestion, 
but  he  experienced  no  such  effect  from  eating  the  fat  black- 
cod,  and  mentioned  the  fact  as  something  to  be  noticed. 

"  Now  that  the  experiment  of  my  method  of  dry-salting 
the  black-cod  has  proved  a  success  by  the  encomiums  passed 
upon  the  excellence  of  that  fish  as  tested  by  the  experts  of 
the  Boston  Fish  Bureau,  who  are  undoubtedly  some  of  the 
best  critics  and  judges  of  fish  in  the  United  States,  I  wish 
to  call  attention  to  the  economy  of  my  method  for  the  poor 
settlers  on  our  northwest  coasts  of  Washington  Territory 
and  Alaska.  All  that  is  required  for  outlay  is  the  cost  of 
the  salt  for  curing  the  fish,  and  the  nails  for  making  boxes, 
which  can  be  made  from  the  white  spruce  which  abounds 
on  the  coast,  from  the  Columbia  River  to  Western  Alaska. 
This  wood  splits  as  easily  as  cedar,  is  perfectly  sweet  and 
free  from  resin,  as  all  the  gum  is  contained  in  the  thin  ring 
of  sap-wood  and  bark.     The  inside  is  free  from  resin.  This 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  147 

will  make  the  cheapest  and  best  of  boxes  and  save  the 
expense  of  coopers  and  barrels,  and  the  fish  being  of  full 
size  is  better  adapted  for  smoking  than  the  same  fish  cut 
and  barreled. 

"  The  Fishery  for  the  Black-Cod. — A  very  important  ques- 
tion to  be  answered  is  :  Will  the  black-cod  be  taken  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  supply  the  demand  which  is  likely  to  spring 
up  wherever  their  rare  excellence  is  known  ?  I  think  that 
at  present  the  supply  will  be  limited,  as  there  are  no  fisher- 
men on  the  North  Pacific  coast  who  have  the  appliances  or 
the  experience  in  deep  sea  fishing  as  practiced  at  present  on 
the  Atlantic  coast.  Our  coast  fisheries  are  exclusively  con- 
fined to  salmon,  which  are  taken  in  the  rivers  with  nets  and 
seines.  The  very  few  cod  and  halibut  brought  to  our 
markets  are  taken  with  hand-lines  and  old-fashioned  trawls, 
but  it  is  rare  to  find  any  fishermen  working  in  more  than 
thirty  fathoms  of  water.  Our  waters  teem  with  fish,  but  as 
yet,  with  the  exception  of  salmon,  no  organized  plan  has 
been  tried  for  taking  quantities  of  fish  What  we  want  are 
Eastern  fishermen  with  Eastern  capital  and  Eastern  methods  of 
taking  fish.  If  such  men  would  come  out  here  they  can 
find  plenty  of  black-cod,  but  they  will  be  found  in  deep, 
swift  water,  where  at  times  it  is  pretty  rough.  But  to  a 
'  Grand  Banker'  or  a  '  George's  Banker  '  our  most  turbu- 
lent waters  would  be  but  a  plaything.  In  order  to  develop 
the  fisheries  of  Puget  Sound  and  the  Alaskan  waters  there 
should  be  some  regular  wholesale  fish  dealers  established, 
who  would  take  every  thing  the  fishermen  would  bring,  and 
find  markets  themselves.  Our  fishermen  are  too  poor  to 
send  their  fish  to  a  distant  market ;  but  let  a  wholesale 
dealer  with  capital  establish  himself,  and  he  would  find  that 
fish  would  be  brought  from  all  quarters,  white  men  and 
Indians  working  with  a  will  to  catch  fish  which  would  bring 
them  ready  money. 

"  The  best  season  of  the  year  for  taking  black-cod  is  in 
the  spring,  when  the  eulachon  run  up  the  inlets  and  streams 
where  they  spawn  ;  the  black-cod  follow  them,  and  can  be 
taken  in  quantities  ;  but  I  am  informed  by  both  Haidah  and 
Makah  Indians  that  the  black-cod  can  be  taken  in  the  deep 
water  at  any  season  of  the  year  when  the  weather  will  per- 
mit fishing.  There  are  undoubtedly  certain  seasons  which 
are  better  than  others  for  taking  this  fish,  but  as  yet  no  one 
has  made  a  study  of  their  habits." 

Herring  swarm  in  the  bays  and  inlets  of  Alaska  during 
the  spawning  season  in  the  spring,  but  are  not  at  that  time 
of  as  good  quality  as  when  taken  in  nets  from  their  perma- 


148  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

nent  banks  and  feeding  grounds.  The  Indians  catch  great 
quantities  with  poles  and  boards,  armed  with  sharp  nails  at 
an  angle.  These  are  thrust  under  the  schools,  which  swim 
about  two  feet  deep,  and  the  fish  are  gaffed  out.  The  her- 
ring spawn  in  salt  water,  and  their  favorite  places  are  the 
quiet  bays  along  the  shores,  and  there  every  kind  of  kelp 
and  seaweed  is  crusted  with  the  spawn,  and  as  the  tide  goes 
down  and  one  walks  along  the  beach,  every  step  crushes 
myriads.  I  can  not  discover  that  they  enter  the  fresh  water 
streams  at  all.  The  most  careful  investigation  has  failed  to 
discover  their  spawn  attached  to  plants  beyond  the  reach  of 
tide.  The  Indians  do  not  collect  the  eggs  deposited  on  the 
seaweed,  but  plant  at  half-tide  marks  rows  of  branches  of 
cedar  and  balsam,  which,  in  a  tide  or  two,  become  covered 
with  spawn  ;  these  are  replaced  by  others,  and  hung  up  to 
dry.  The  spawn  is  eaten  dried,  raw  and  cooked  in  various 
ways,  and  is  very  palatable  in  either.  These,  however,  are 
somewhat  smaller  than  those  of  Europe,  though  fully  equal 
in  quality  when  taken  in  their  prime.  There  is  a  factory  on 
Burrard  inlet,  near  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway  terminus, 
where  herring  oil  is  pressed  out  and  fertilizers  made  from 
the  scraps.  The  success  of  the  menhaden  fishing  in  the 
East  should  encourage  herring  fishing  in  the  West. 

Comparing  my  personal  observations  made  at  sundry 
times  and  places,  I  find  the  range  of  the  true  cod,  halibut, 
salmon,  sea  trout  and  some  other  fish  to  be  the  same  on  both 
sides  of  the  continent.  The  cod  range  between  the  fiftieth 
and  sixtieth  parallels  of  latitude.  In  the  East  the  principal 
food  of  the  shore-cod  is  the  caplin,  and  the  fishermen  not 
only  use  caplin  chiefly  for  bait,  but  they  follow  their  move- 
ments to  ascertain  the  whereabouts  of  the  cod.  On  the  west 
side  (the  Pacific)  the  oolachan,  or  the  candle-fish,  is  the  cor- 
respondent of  the  caplin,  and  is  almost  identical  with  it.  It 
is  smoked,  salted  and  dried  on  the  rocks  in  the  same  way, 
and  is  largely  used  for  food  by  the  Indians,  being  very  de- 
licious, but  it  is  much  more  oily  and  will  burn  like  a  candle. 
Oolachan  oil  is  considered  superior  to  cod  liver  oil  or  any 
other  fish  oil  known.  It  is  of  a  whitish  tint,  about  the  con- 
sistency of  thin  lard,  and  is  a  staple  article  of  barter  between 
the  coast  Indians  and  the  interior  tribes.  The  fish  begin 
running  about  the  first  of  March,  and  swarm  into  the  rivers 
and  estuaries  by  the  million  for  several  weeks,  the  waves  of 
each  flood  tide  stranding  them  upon  the  beach  in  windrows  a 
yard  wide  and  several  inches  deep.  This  period  should  be 
the  cod-fishing  season,  which  is  three  months  earlier  than  in 
Labrador.     They  are  caught  in  purse  nets  by  the  canoe  load. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  149 

In  the  province  of  British  Columbia,  where  the  manufacture 
of  the  oil  is  prosecuted  to  some  extent,  the  fish  are  boiled  in 
water  about  four  hours  in  five-barrel  wooden  tanks  with  iron 
bottoms,  and  then  strained  through  baskets,  made  from 
willow  roots,  into  red  cedar  boxes  of  about  fifteen  gallons 
capacity  each.  When  the  run  of  fish  is  good,  each  tribe 
will  put  up  about  twenty  boxes  of  oil. 

Sturgeon  are  said  to  exist  in  the  interior,  and  if  such  be 
the  fact,  which  I  can  not  vouch  for  of  my  own  personal 
knowledge,  here  is  another  opportunity  for  lucrative  profit 
to  energetic  operators,  who  can  employ  the  Indians  to  cap- 
ture them.  Wherever  sturgeon  are  found  in  Canada  or  the 
United  States,  the  catching  of  them  is  prosecuted  with  great 
pecuniary  advantage,  for  there  is  no  part  of  this  extraordi- 
nary fish  that  can  not  be  utilized,  and  in  bulk  they  often 
reach  150  pounds  avoirdupois.  Sturgeon  have  a  wide  dis- 
tribution, extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and 
through  many  degrees  of  north  and  south  latitude.  They 
are  abundant  in  Fraser  River,  British  Columbia,  and  in  the 
Peace  River  country  much  further  north,  whose  waters 
head  in  the  same  great  divide  or  watershed  which  separates 
the  north-eastern  tributaries  of  the  Yukon  ;  and  there  seems 
to  be  no  physical  reason  why  they  should  not  exist  in  the 
interior  of  Alaska.  Indeed,  I  have  an  impression  that 
Lieutenant  Schwatka  mentions  their  being  there.  The 
strongest  evidence  to  the  contrary  is  the  fact  that  the  Rus- 
sians, who  make  such  an  extensive  commodity  of  the  stur- 
geon and  its  products  elsewhere,  did  not  prosecute  this 
industry  in  Alaska.  However,  and  whether  or  no,  the 
methods  of  catching  sturgeon  are  so  unique  and  the  econo- 
mic value  of  the  fish  so  great,  that  I  dare  say  a  description 
of  them  here  will  prove  interesting  to  the  reader,  even 
though  the  subject  be  not  strictly  Alaskan.  In  the  first 
place,  sturgeon  are  caught  in  seines,  pound-nets,  and  drift- 
nets,  during  both  winter  and  summer,  and  by  hook  and 
line.  In  winter  gill-nets  are  set  by  an  ingenious  system  of 
holes  cut  through  the  ice  at  equi-distant  intervals, 
through  which  they  are  thrust  and  located  by  means  of  long 
poles  with  boat-hooks  attached.  The  "  pounds  "  used  are 
the  common  trap-net  with  lead,  heart  and  pocket.  When 
drift-nets  are  used,  they  are  handled  from  large  fiat-boats, 
and  fishing  is  done  only  at  night.  In  the  morning  the  fish 
are  hauled  to  a  floating  platform  on  the  shore,  where  the 
heads,  tails,  entrails,  backbone,  and  skin  are  removed,  and 
the  two  sides  are  packed  in  ice  in  large  boxes  for  shipment, 
to  be  sold  for  consumption  while  fresh,  or  for  smoking  else- 


i5°  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

where.  Many  fishermen  inclose  a  space  on  the  lake  or 
river  shore  in  three  or  four  feet  depth  of  water,  by  making 
a  pen  of  piles  or  heavy  stakes  driven  in  the  bottom.  Here 
they  are  kept  after  being  caught  and  fed  until  wanted 
for  market.  Numerous  pens  of  this  kind  may  be  seen  along 
the  Detroit  River  and  Lakes  St.  Clair  and  Huron.  The 
American  Angler,  in  describing  the  entire  adaptability  of 
the  whole  body  of  this  most  economical  fish  says  : — "  The 
meat  of  this  fish  is  extremely  nutritious,  and  when  fat  and 
properly  employed  is  nearly  equal  to  veal  in  its  sustaining 
principles.  When  eaten  from  the  young  fish  it  highly 
savors,  and  partakes  chiefly  of  that  enticing  flavor  so  much 
praised  in  the  shad.  Every  part  of  the  fish  is  utilized. 
The  meat  is  often  labeled  salmon,  and  is  often  mistaken  for 
the  meat  of  that  fish.  The  cartilaginous  bones  make  a 
highly  valued  isinglass,  and  the  stomach  gives  a  most  per- 
fect, clear,  and  adhesive  glue.  The  residue  is  used  as 
manure,  and  by  the  farmers  is  considered  equal  to  that  of 
sheep.  The  process  of  smoking  is  quite  simple.  After 
being  cleaned  the  meat,  which  has  no  bones,  like  other 
fish,  is  cut  into  strips  from  one-half  pound  to  two  and  three 
pounds  weight,  put  into  brine  ten  or  twelve  hours  for  cur- 
ing, hung  up  a  short  time  to  dry  and  then  finished  with  the 
smoke  of  hickory  or  some  hard  wood  for  ten  or  twelve 
hours,  when  it  is  ready  for  boxing  and  shipment.  The  next 
largest  industry  connected  with  the  sturgeon  is  the  manu- 
facture and  exportation  of  "  caviar."  This  is  nothing  else 
than  the  roe  or  eggs  of  the  female  which,  it  is  said,  some- 
times equal  one-third  the  weight  of  the  fish.  Generally  the 
yield  of  the  lake  sturgeon  is  one  and  two  gallons.  These 
are  taken  in  hand  by  experts,  who  manipulate  them  by  sev- 
eral washings  through  sieves,  with  water  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  the  purest  salt,  obtained  usually  from  Russia  or 
Germany,  until  every  shred  and  vestige  of  flesh  and  impurity 
is  removed.  The  "  caviar "  is  then  treated  to  a  certain 
seasoning  of  ingredients,  known  only  to  the  initiated  and 
carefully  guarded  from  public  ken,  and  put  up  in  water- 
tight casks  holding  from  115  to  125  lbs.,  well  headed  to 
exclude  the  air.  It  is  then  ready  for  market  and  bears  an 
average  of  twelve  cents  per  pound,  wholesale.  In  retail 
shops  it  sells  at  twenty-five  and  thirty  cents,  and  is  put  up 
in  small  cans,  one-half  to  two  and  three  pounds  in  size.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  give  the  tonnage  of  "  caviar  "  that  is 
prepared  on  the  lakes  and  finds  its  way  largely  to  New 
York  and  Boston,  and  probably  in  still  larger  amounts  to 
Europe,  and  principally  Russia  and  Germany.     One  dealer 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES.  151 

gives  his  annual  trade  at  400  kegs,  say  60,000  lbs.;  4,000 
kegs  of  caviar  were  received  at  the  single  port  of  Hamburg, 
Germany,  from  the  middle  of  June,  1885,  to  the  middle  of 
November,  from  the  United  States.  The  eggs  are  quite 
small  and  dark  colored,  entirely  salty  in  taste,  and  without 
a  superior  as  an  appetizer.  For  table  use  caviar  is  seasoned 
with  onions,  pepper,  and  such  condiments  as  are  palatable 
to  the  eater,  and  spread  in  its  raw  state  upon  bread  and 
eaten  with  it,  much  as  butter  is.  It  is  a  highly  popular  dish 
among  the  Russians,  who  make  it  in  its  perfection,  and  is 
to  them  what  Limburger  cheese  is  to  the  Dutch.  But  the 
American  people  are  gradually  bringing  their  taste  up  to 
the  Russian  delicacy,  as  they  are  also  fast  bringing  it  up  to 
the  Frenchman's  frog.  The  taste  has  to  be  educated  to 
enjoy  its  gustatory  flavor.  It  seems  to  have  been  known 
in  Shakespeare's  time.  He  makes  Hamlet  say  :  '  For 
the  play,  I  remember,  pleased  not  the  million.  'Twas 
caviar  to  the  general,'  from  which  it  would  seem  not 
to  have  been  a  universal  favorite.  The  value  of  the 
sturgeon  is  still  further  enhanced  by  its  large  air  bladder 
or  sound.  When  taken  from  the  fish  it  is  split  open,  thor- 
oughly cleansed  and  prepared  by  men  who  understand  the 
business.  When  dry  it  is  the  isinglass  of  commerce,  and 
sells  usually  at  $1.50  per  pound.  The  bladders  are  bought 
by  the  fishermen  at  five  and  six  cents  each.  A  considerable 
quantity  is  made  in  Detroit  yearly.  The  sturgeon  is 
one  of  the  most  oily  of  the  finny  tribe,  and  when  put  through 
the  usual  process  yields  a  large  percentage  of  oil,  which  is 
said  to  make  a  very  good  lubricating  oil,  and  is  also  pre- 
ferred for  greasing  and  softening  harness." 

The  Indians  who  dwell  along  the  great  Sascatchewan 
River  in  the  British  Northwest  Territory,  spear  sturgeon 
in  the  river  pockets  just  below  shoals,  where  they  resort  to 
gather  up  whatever  floats  down  stream  and  settles,  just  as 
all  the  tribes  of  suckers  do  ;  and  for  this  purpose  they  have 
an  ingenious  harpoon  whose  head  comes  out  of  the  shaft 
whenever  a  fish  is  struck  and  fastened,  but  which  is  pre- 
vented from  being  carried  off  or  lost  by  a  free  line  which 
attaches  it  to  the  staff  or  handle.  In  roily  or  turbid  waters 
where  the  fish  can  not  be  seen,  they  use  a  long  pole,  at  the 
end  of  which  are  fastened,  loosely,  several  large  hooks,  the 
shanks  of  which  are  tied  to  the  pole  with  sinew  or  strong 
marline.  The  red  man  feels  for  the  fish  with  his  pole, 
and  knowing  by  long  practice  when  he  has  touched  a  fish 
he  gives  a  strong  pull  backward,  which  sinks  the  sharp 
hook  through  the  tough  skin  and  deep  into  the  flesh.     The 


152  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

fish  struggles  and  the  hooks  loosen  from  the  pole,  but  are 
held  fast  by  the  line.  Then  it  is  only  a  question  of  strength 
to  get  the  lethargic  fellows  out  of  the  water,  with  may  be  a 
hearty  wrestle  on  the  bank  to  keep  them  out. 

In  Alaska,  flounders,  anchovies,  and  sole  are  found  in 
large  numbers,  but  quite  unlike  the  fishes  called  by  the 
same  names  on  the  Atlantic  (coast.  The  sole  is  especially 
different  from  his  celebrated  European  namesake.  Dogfish 
and  sculpins  are  not  esteemed  as  edible  fish,  although  they 
are  very  numerous  and  great  nuisances  to  those  who  fish 
with  hook  and  line.  One  kind  of  dogfish  is  beautifully 
spotted,  and  one  of  the  sculpins  (Hemilcpidotus  trachartd) 
looks  very  much  like  a  rutabaga  turnip  covered  with  warts, 
with  a  slit  clear  across  the  big  end  for  a  mouth.  He  is  so 
ugly  that  old  fishermen  torture  him  just  for  his  ugliness. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  coral  found  on  the  coast,  and 
also  sponges  of  fine  texture,  not  round  like  the  recognized 
sponges  of  commerce,  but  palmated  with  digital  divisions, 
which  might  be  made  useful  for  many  purposes.  The  sea 
cucumber  is  abundant  also.  When  cured  and  dried  it 
makes  the  article  of  commerce  known  as  the  beche  de  la  mer, 
highly  prized  in  China  for  food,  where  it  is  called  "trepang." 
A  valuable  industry  might  be  built  up  by  preparing  this 
commodity  for  market.  Indeed  there  are  lots  of  economi- 
cal natural  products  in  this  new  and  unprospected  region 
which  might  reasonably  prompt  mercantile  effort  if  atten- 
tion were  only  called  to  them. 

The  immunity  of  the  North  Pacific  ocean  from  the  inter- 
mittent storms  which  devastate  the  Atlantic,  makes  most 
favorable  comparison  in  its  behalf  as  a  field  for  commercial 
fisheries  and  a  cruising  ground  for  fishing  vessels.  Cyclones 
are  seldom  heard  of  there,  while  on  the  Labrador  coast  and 
the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  alone,  no  less  than  three  hundred 
vessels  and  twelve  hundred  lives  have  been  lost  in  storms 
during  the  past  twenty-five  years.  Besides  this  considera- 
tion, the  scarcity  of  fish  in  Eastern  waters  within  the  past 
few  years  is  making  the  fisheries  a  precarious  business. 
Let  the  disappointed  fisherman  of  the  Atlantic  coast  mi- 
grate to  Alaska  !  The  fishing  seasons  are  different  there, 
and  not  subject  to  interruptions  of  drifting  ice  in  the 
spring  and  rough  weather  in  the  fall  ;  and  there  is  no  dan- 
ger of  starvation,  even  if  the  fisheries  should  fail.  I  see  no 
reason  why  the  banks  and  littoral  waters  of  the  Alaskan 
Pacific  may  not  swarm  with  fleets  of  fishing  vessels  as 
well  as  those  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador.  The  an- 
nual fish  catch  of  Alaska  is  already  worth  $8,000,000. 


FUR,  FISH  AND  GAME. 


As  regards  the  anadromous  and  inland  fresh  water  fish  of 
Alaska,  there  are  the  salmon  and  the  sea  trout,  the  lake 
trout,  at  least  two  kinds  of  brook  trout,  pike,  grayling,  and 
a  very  superior  whitefish.  Silver  salmon  begin  to  arrive  in 
March,  or  early  in  April,  and  last  until  the  end  of  June. 
They  generally  weigh  from  four  to  twenty-five  pounds,  but 
sometimes  reach  seventy.  The  second  kind  are  caught 
from  June  to  August,  and  are  considered  the  finest.  The 
average  size  is  only  five  or  six  pounds.  The  third,  coming 
in  August,  average  seven  pounds,  and  are  an  excellent  fish. 
The  humpback  appears  every  second  year,  remaining  from 
August  until  winter,  and  weighs  from  six  to  fourteen  pounds. 
The  hookbill  arrives  in  September,  and  remains  till  winter, 
its  weight  ranging  from  twelve  to  forty-five  pounds.  There 
are  several  other  varieties  of  salmon,  not  all  strictly  edible, 
of  which  the  most  numerous  is  the  dog  salmon,  eaten  only 
by  the  Indians.  The  rainbow  trout,  6".  iridea,  and  the  cut- 
throat trout,  which  is  especially  distinguished  by  the  crimson 
slashes  under  its  gills,  are  found  in  many  streams  and  also  in 
the  lakes.  A  larger  lake  trout,  of  the  Dolly  Varden  type  (S. 
Afalmd),  with  red  spots  as  large  as  a  pea,  is  found  in  the 
lakes  on  the  small  islands,  as  well  as  the  mainland.  The  sea 
trout,  identical  with  the  Canadian  sea  trout,  and  spotted  in 
the  same  way  with  blue  and  crimson  spots,  much  like  the 
Eastern  brook  trout,  makes  its  appearance  at  stated  inter- 
vals like  its  Atlantic  brothers,  and  ascends  the  rivers  to 
spawn.  All  kinds  of  trout  take  bait  and  fly.  The  sea  trout 
takes  the  trolling  spoon  readily  in  the  bays.  It  is  found  all 
the  way  from  Victoria,  B.  C,  northward  to  Bering  Strait, 
and  in  the  Arctic  seas  replaces  the  salmon,  which  is  not 
found  there  at  all.  Its  north  and  south  range  on  the  west 
coast  corresponds  very  nearly  with  its  range  on  the  Eastern 
coast.  It  winters  in  the  lakes  which  connect  with  salt 
water,  and  runs  down  the  streams  in  the  spring.  The  indi- 
genous fish  of  the  streams  are  the  Salmo  iridea,  but  there  are 
many  streams  in  Alaska  which  are  bare  of  all  fish  except  in 
the  early  summer  and  fall,  and  then  these  self-same  sea  trout, 


154  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

migratory  and  anadromous,  run  up  their  channels  to  spawn, 
just  as  they  do  in  the  Canadian  Atlantic. 

For  other  varieties  of  trout  than  this,  Indian  River  and 
Saw  Mill  Creek,  near  Sitka,  the  Lake  Loring  outlet  at  Naha 
Bay,  and  other  streams,  afford  good  rod-fishing.  Sport 
with  the  artificial  fly  is  by  no  means  as  satisfying  as  it  is  in 
the  East,  or  even  in  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  al- 
though at  certain  times  it  is  fair.  It  may  be  said  that, 
owing  to  the  condition  of  water  as  affected  by  the  melting 
snows  in  spring,  and  the  subsequent  superabundance  of 
salmon  roe  with  which  every  crevice  is  crammed  after  those 
fish  begin  to  spawn,  even  bait-fishing  can  hardly  be  en- 
joyed except  at  certain  periods.  No  fly  will  tempt  the  trout, 
nothing  in  fact  but  a  chunk  of  nasty  sticky  spawn,  which 
they  will  approach  leisurely  and  feed  on  as  daintily  as  a 
full  fed  kitten  on  a  bit  of  meat.  You  must  sink  your 
weighted  hook  to  the  bottom,  and  keep  up  a  series  of  little 
jerks  as  though  you  were  bobbing  for  eels,  and  by  and  by 
you  strike  one ;  once  hooked  they  are  quite  gamy. 

The  Salmo  iridea  is  found  here  both  in  the  lakes  and 
streams,  but  there  is  another  trout  which  differs  much  in 
appearance  from  varieties  which  I  am  familiar  with.  A  spec- 
imen ten  inches  long,  called  "mountain  trout  "  by  the  In- 
dians, had  a  body  covered  with  black  spots,  from  one-six- 
teenth to  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter.  These  extend  con- 
siderably below  the  medial  line  and  cover  the  tail  and  the 
dorsal  fins  ;  the  second  dorsal  is  adipose,  but  slightly  less 
so  than  that  of  a  fontinalis,  having  a  slight  show  of  mem- 
brane on  which  there  are  four  spots.  The  ventral  and  anal 
fins  are  yellowish  in  center,  bordered  with  red,  the  tail  is 
square,  the  belly  a  dull  white. 

That  the  spawning  seasons  of  families  of  fish  similar  to 
those  of  the  Atlantic  should  be  different  on  the  Pacific,  is 
easily  accounted  for  by  the  warmer  temperature  of  the 
water.  It  would  seem  that  the  laws  of  heat  and  cold  have 
the  same  effect  upon  fish  as  they  do  upon  vegetation,  order- 
ing the  seasons  accordingly  ;  and  the  spawning  of  fish,  like 
the  budding  of  trees,  may  be  advanced  or  retarded  by  mild 
or  inclement  weather  ;  stated  visitations  of  pelagic  or  anad- 
romous fish  may  be  postponed  or  even  prevented  by  cold 
weather  ;  but  the  Pacific  is  less  subject  to  these  vicissi- 
tudes than  the  Atlantic. 

In  Alaska  there  are  few  sandy  beaches  or  gravelly  shores. 
The  margins  of  the  mainlands  and  islands  drop  plump  into 
many  fathoms  of  water,  so  that  the  tide  never  goes  out — it 
merely  recedes,  and  when  it  is  lowest  it  exposes  the  rank 


FUR,  FISH  AND  GAME.  i55 

yellow  and  green  weeds  which  cling  to  the  damp  crags  and 
slippery  masses  of  rock,  and  the  mussels  and  barnacles 
which  crackle  and  hiss  when  the  lapping  waves  recede.  In 
some  places  there  are  little  bights,  a  few  yards  wide,  between 
the  rocks,  where  there  is  a  sort  of  beach  formed  entirely  of 
comminuted  shells  ;  and  one  can  pick  up  cockles,  round 
hard-shell  clams  and  abelones  by  the  peck — clams  of  all 
sizes,  some  large  and  tough,  and  some  small  and  very  sweet. 
Exceptionally  there  are  areas  of  mud,  where  the  gigantic 
geoduck,  a  soft-shell  clam  which  sometimes  weighs  8  lbs., 
vegetates  in  oozy  retirement  a  foot  beneath  the  surface, 
squirting  aloft  its  tremendous  jets,  four  feet  high,  whenever 
a  passing  foot  chances  to  disturb  its  shellfish  privacy,  and 
there  are  also  flats  near  the  mouths  of  rivers  which,  on  gala 
days  when  the  festive  clam  luxuriates,  seem  to  be  filled 
with  miniature  fountains,  squirting.  As  for  the  luscious  and 
toothsome  oyster,  the  abrupt  conformation  of  the  coast,  with 
its  rocky  shores  and  almost  fathomless  waters,  explains  why 
there  are  none.  I  can  not  learn  that  any  person  has  ever 
seen  a  native  Alaskan  oyster  ;  but  there  are  a  good  many 
beds  further  south,  in  British  Columbia,  and  I  have  eaten 
lots  of  the  bivalves  with  genuine  gusto.  However,  along 
side  of  a  regulation  "  Saddle-rock"  they  look  insignificant, 
inasmuch  as  seven  stewed  oysters  go  to  the  teaspoonful,  by 
actual  count  ! 

To  me  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  see  what  the  ebb-tide  un- 
covers, and  to  watch  the  career  of  the  counter  currents  as 
they  surge  to  and  fro  in  the  narrow  channels  betwixt  sunken 
rocks — visible  now  at  low  water,  and  eloquent  with  the  dan- 
gers of  Peril  strait  or  Seymour  rapids — which  are  invisible 
when  the  flood  is  full.  At  flood  or  slack  water  the  surface 
is  as  placid  as  the  moon,  but  whenever  the  tide  turns  and 
the  ebb  or  flood  begins,  it  is  strange  to  observe  the  tide-rips 
in  what  seems  to  be  an  interior  land-locked  lake.  If  one 
were  to  unexpectedly  behold  a  surging  commotion  in  the 
placid  basins  of  the  Adirondacks,  he  would  scarcely  be 
more  startled.  It  is  hard  to  grapple  with  the  phenomenon. 
Immediately  on  the  flood,  all  the  trash  and  floating  trees, 
chunks  of  ice,  dead  fish,  loose  seaweed,  and  what  not,  which 
have  been  floating  about  on  the  slack,  begin  to  set  in  with 
the  tide  ;  giant  kelps  with  stems  20  fathoms  long  and  broad 
streamers  spreading  in  all  directions  and  half  under  water, 
like  the  hair  of  a  drowned  woman,  lift  their  weird  forms  as 
they  drift  by  ;  jelly-fish  and  medusas,  almost  translucent, 
with  delicate  tints  of  pearl,  lavender,  mauve,  and  brown, 
come  in  countless  myriads,  contracting  and  expanding  like 


i56  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

a  living  pulse,  and  with  streaming  filaments  like  threads  of 
glass  steadfastly  follow  the  inexorable  stream  of  fate,  as  if 
striving  to  overtake  the  lead  ;  schools  of  herring  and  small 
fish  of  all  sorts  swarm  in  all  directions,  skurrying  onward  and 
fretting  the  surface  like  flaws  of  wind  ;  and  last  of  all,  pre- 
datory and  with  fell  intent,  follow  the  whales  and  porpoises 
and  thresher  sharks,  tumbling,  sporting,  diving  and  feasting 
with  appetites  never  cloyed  by  repletion.  Here  and  there 
along  the  shore,  where  some  little  bight  makes  into  the 
land,  herds  of  seals  bob  up  serenely  out  of  the  water  and 
gaze  with  large  and  solemn  eyes.  All  the  atmosphere  is 
filled  with  the  softened  light  of  a  summer  haze,  and  the  air 
aloft  and  roundabout  is  noisy  with  the  scream  of  gulls  and 
terns  quartering  the  azure  fields  on  the  wings  of  the  warm 
southwest  winds.     This  is  a  summer  picture  of  Alaska. 

As  I  stroll  along  the  seething  shore,  with  all  the  bowlders 
and  crags  slippery  and  rank  with  a  pervading  odor  from  the 
uncovered  repository  of  the  sea,  peering  into  clefts  and 
crannies,  opening  out  rough  snarls  of  seaweed  with  my 
crooked  stick,  and  lifting  pendulous  draperies  of  soggy  kelp, 
uncouth  creatures  with  horny  claws  and  bristling  spines 
stare  at  me  with  glassy  eyes,  clinging  defiantly  to  the  place 
of  their  exposure.  If  I  poke  at  them,  they  rise  up  on  edge 
and  snap  and  dart  and  pinch  the  stick.  Some  pettishly 
withdraw,  spitting  spiteful  jets  of  acrimony,  while  others 
attach  themselves  by  insidious  discs  or  suckers  which  no 
small  force  or  shrewd  device  is  able  to  unloose.  The  Spirit 
of  Evil  clings  not  more  tenaciously  to  human  nature.  If  it 
had  been  my  hand,  nothing  but  shreds  of  flesh  and  blood 
would  satisfy  the  grudge.  With  their  protecting  element, 
the  sea,  withdrawn,  they  are  practically  hors  du  combat,  yet 
repellant.  When  the  tide  comes  in,  they  will  be  aggressive 
enough.  It  is  not  a  nice  place  for  a  bath.  Here  are  giant 
crabs.  Close  by,  moving  inexplicably  over  the  rocks, 
there  seems  a  pewter  wash-basin,  bottom  up,  dingy  with  use, 
but  turn  it  over,  and  we  find  it  filled  with  a  tangle  of  legs, 
sprawling  and  kicking  ;  and  it  has  a  handle  a  foot  long, 
three-sided  like  a  bayonet,  serrated  on  the  edges.  It  is  a 
horseshoe  crab,  more  horrid  than  hurtful.  All  over  the 
sodden  premises,  scattered  among  the  party-colored  kelp  and 
seaweeds,  are  conchs,  abelones,  periwinkles,  and  spirals, 
with  their  protruding  tenants  gasping  for  the  beneficent 
moisture  of  the  tardy  tide.  Touch  them  ever  so  gently,  and 
some  will  pull  in  their  heads,  and  some  thrust  them  out 
further.  They  have  a  bland,  innocuous  look,  yet  if  one  of 
them  once  shuts  down  its  valve  on  a  presumptuous  hand, 


FUR,  FISH  AND   GAME.  157 

the  creature  will  hold  its  grip  until  the  tide  comes  in  and 
drowns  the  man,  for  some  of  them  are  glued  fast  to  the 
rocks  so  that  no  ordinary  means  will  pry  them  off.  In  soft 
places  sand-lances  burrow  deeply,  leaving  only  their  tails 
out  ;  and  fiddler-crabs  and  craw-fish  have  burrows  into 
which  they  dart  when  frightened.  In  some  pockets  of 
standing  water  left  by  the  ebb,  we  will  sometimes  see  a  clam 
or  scallop  suddenly  lift  himself  from  the  belittered  bottom 
and  go,  by  little  convulsive  jerks,  to  another  place  a  few  feet 
off.  Yes,  the  object  which  seemed  so  helpless  and  inani- 
mate, almost  like  a  stone,  will  actually  rise  up  and  swim. 
By  opening  and  shutting  his  valves  quickly,  he  inspires  and 
expels  the  water  from  the  membrane  which  joins  the  two, 
in  such  a  way  that  he  can  propel  himself  through  the  water 
clear  of  the  ground.  I  suppose  he  knows  why  he  wishes  to 
change  his  position,  but  how  can  he  tell  when  and  where  to 
go  with  his  shell  shut  ?  or  does  he  take  the  chances,  happy- 
go-lucky,  where  he  may  land  ? 

One  can  not  always  tell  for  certain  which  are  sentient  liv- 
ing creatures,  and  which  are  inorganic  and  inanimate.  Here, 
for  instance,  is  a  cluster  of  tubes  like  hollow  stalks  or  reeds 
cut  off  six  inches  above  the  ground  and  filled  with  water. 
Keep  quiet  for  awhile,  and  blossoms  of  exquisite  purple  will 
begin  to  protrude  from  every  one,  and  finally  mature  into  a 
perfect  bloom.  It  is  like  magic  so  to  see  things  grow  apace  ! 
We  think  they  are  natural  flowers,  but  they  are  only  sense- 
less and  slimy  mollusks,  capital  for  fish-bait  and  agreeable 
for  the  table,  and  the  purple  fringes  are  their  gills.  So  also 
one  picks  up  rough  substances  like  bits  of  rock,  and  lo  !  they 
are  coral  insects  in  their  cases  soft  and  juicy  ;  or  we  find  on 
strings  of  sea-weed  little  bulbs  like  berries,  which  perchance 
are  eggs  of  fishes.  In  wet  caves,  arched  and  smoothed  by 
churning  waves,  starfish  of  many  patterns  pave  the  bottom 
like  cobblestones — starfish  of  five,  eight,  ten,  eighteen  and 
twenty-two  fingers  or  points,  and  of  bright  crimson,  green, 
purple,  pink,  dark-red,  yellow,  drab  and  gray  hues,  and  all 
the  crabs  and  prawns  left  by  the  ebb  climb  and  skip  over 
their  motionless  bodies,  seldom  provoking  them  to  stir  the 
least  bit  out  of  position.  On  the  piles  of  all  the  wharves, 
and  wherever  there  are  sunken  logs  or  trees,  anemones  of 
pink  and  purest  white  grow  in  clusters  shaped  like  lilies, 
only  more  mysteriously  beautiful  in  their  composite  char- 
acter and  blending  of  animal  and  vegetable  forms.  And 
there  are  many  kinds  of  the  repulsive  octopus,  with  deca- 
pods and  cephalopods  and  all  the  tribes  of  sepia  and  cuttle- 
fish, growing  sometimes  to  gigantic  sizes  ;  creatures  such  as 


158  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

we  used  to  think  were  mere  fictions  of  gross  fable,  but  are 
terrible  realities,  though  seldom  seen.  And  yet  the  little 
ones,  only  a  few  inches  long,  perhaps  have  all  the  villainous 
attributes  of  their  superior  kin — malicious  eyes  aflame,  and 
yearning  tentacles,  which  seem  to  shrink  while  momentarily 
alert  to  fling  out  their  inexorable  clasp  upon  the  wrist  or 
arm.  And  there  are  ink-fish,  which  in  their  natural  element 
eject  a  liquid  cloud  to  befog  their  pursuers  or  blind  their 
victims — double-dyed  scamps,  who  advance  backward  by 
jerks,  and  look  one  way  when  they  are  going  the  opposite. 
And  on  every  landwash,  when  the  tide  is  out,  are  stranded 
jelly-fish,  limp  and  flabby,  which  blister  where  they  touch 
the  flesh,  and  beautiful  medusae  with  stings  like  nettles,  and 
great  black  sea-spiders,  ugly  but  harmless,  and  shark's  eggs 
which  look  like  leather  wallets.  How  strange  the  marvels 
which  the  ebbing  tide  reveals  ! 

Outside,  along  the  shore,  are  large  areas  of  amber-colored 
kelp,  with  intervals  of  open  space,  where  there  is  splendid 
trolling  with  a  spoon  for  a  fish  of  the  genus  Sebastichthys 
(S.  melanops)  locally  known  as  "  kelp-fish  "  and  "  black  sea- 
bass  ";  but  they  are  not  bass  at  all,  although  somewhat  like 
the  Microptertis  of  the  East.  Their  play  on  the  rod  and  line 
is  not  so  vigorous,  but  upon  the  whole  they  answer  very 
well  as  substitutes  for  the  favorite  game-fish  of  our  eastern 
inland  waters.  Fishing  for  them  after  this  method  is  better 
sport  than  hauling  up  their  deep-sea  kindred  hand  over 
hand,  from  hidden  depths  so  many  fathoms  down  that  they 
come  to  the  top  drowned  dead,  with  their  eye-balls  out  of 
the  sockets,  and  their  air-bladders  reversed  and  protruding 
from  their  gaping  mouths.  There  are  seven  species  of 
Chiridce,  the  largest  of  which — the  "  kultus  cod  " — reaches 
sixty  pounds'  weight.  Indians  troll  for  them  with  a  strip  of 
halibut  belly-skin  wound  on  a  single  hook.  In  such  hours 
of  pastime,  life  afloat  is  enlivened  by  watching  the  bird-life 
along  shore — the  enormous  flocks  of  fish-crows  which  hang 
around  the  islands  and  visit  chosen  places  regularly  to  per- 
form their  ablutions  and  await  the  ebbing  tide  ;  the  solitary 
sand-pipers  which  run  about  the  rocks,  and  the  wisps  of 
beach-birds  which  continually  flit  from  cove  to  cove  ;  the 
black  brant,  which  also  have  their  stated  feeding-places  on 
the  tidal  flats,  breeding  here  on  the  inshore  lakes  ;  the  bald 
eagles  and  ospreys,  which  sit  in  stately  watch  on  the  tallest 
firs  or  hover  above  the  water  spaces  ;  the  big  horned  owls 
in  the  secluded  shadows  ;  and  the  few  little  song  birds 
which  venture  to  lift  their  voices  in  this  wilderness.  Of  the 
avifauna  of  Alaska  the  sea-fowl  constitute  by  far  the  largest 


FUR,  FISH  AND   GAME.  159 

proportion,  breeding  on  the  rocks  along  the  shore  in  count- 
less numbers,  but  other  species  find  the  coast  too  warm,  and 
so  prefer  the  wooded  districts  and  moss  ''tundras  "  which 
lie  between  the  Yukon  and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Of  such  are 
the  snow  goose,  the  white  fronted  goose,  the  painted  goose 
or  wavy,  the  blue  brant,  and  a  majority  of  the  ducks  found 
on  the  coast  in  the  seasons  of  their  northward  and  south- 
ward migrations,  among  which  may  be  included  mergansers, 
harlequins,  brown  ducks,  widgeon,  sprig-tails,  surf-ducks, 
canvas-backs,  golden-eyes,  oldwives,  scoters,  grebes, 
shufflers,  butter-balls,  scaups,  and  lesser-scaups,  all  of  which 
remain  in  the  vicinity  of  Sitka  all  winter,  and  fly  north  to 
their  nesting-places  early  in  March.  Canada  geese  and 
mallards  breed  about  the  mountain  lakes  around  Sitka. 
Green-winged  teal  and  blue-winged  teal  winter  further  south. 
They  are  the  first  to  come  and  the  first  to  go  in  the  fall. 
Puffins,  guilemots,  coots,  sea-pigeons,  shags,  terns,  petrels, 
hagden,  and  gulls  are  found  in  the  south  of  Alaska,  but  they 
all  breed  further  north.  There  is  a  fine  showing  of  beach 
birds  for  variety,  the  list  including  golden-plover,  upland- 
plover,  Wilson  snipe,  gray  snipe,  semi-palmated  snipe,  least 
sand-piper^  Baird's  sand-piper,  jack  curlew,  black-bellied 
sand-piper,  ring-necks,  and  a  rare  kind  of  four-toed  plover, 
some  of  which  are  found  in  immense  congregations,  so  that 
fifty  brace  to  a  gun  is  no  bag  to  mention.  The  flights  of 
wild  fowl  from  North  Alaska  follow  the  coast  down  to  San 
Francisco  and  below,  where  they  are  so  numerous  that 
farmers  pay  men  to  shoot  them  off  their  wheat  fields.  Those 
which  tarry  or  remain  on  the  Alaskan  coast  afford  great 
sport  among  the  islands  in  the  narrow  channels  where  the 
kelp  grows  upon  which  they  feed.  Landing  on  the  side 
opposite  to  where  they  are  feeding,  parties  send  the  boat  to 
stir  them  up,  and  the  gunners,  who  have  taken  position, 
shoot  them  as  they  rise  through  the  openings  between  the 
islands. 

Alaska  is  without  doubt  a  fascinating  field  for  the  nat- 
uralist, as  well  as  the  fisherman,  and  also  for  summer  vag- 
abondizing. I  venture  to  say  that  in  the  near  future  it 
will  become  a  favorite  cruizing  ground  for  steam  yachts. 
Perhaps  the  American  Canoe  Association  will  like  to  make 
a  trip  to  its  land-locked  waters  in  summers,  and  remain  a 
month  between  steamers. 

If  they  should  happen  upon  some  of  those  inlets,  into 
which  the  salmon  crowd,  and  where  there  is  no  presence  of 
man  to  disturb,  they  will  not  fail  to  discover  the  bears  fish- 
ing.    It  is  not  even  sport  to  bruin,  for  the  fish  get  jammed 


160  'PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

in  so  they  can  hardly  move,  and  the  bears  have  only  to 
"scoop"  them  with  their  paws,  and  fill  their  bellies  to 
satiety,  after  which,  in  berry  time,  they  may  take  to  the 
woods  for  their  dessert.  In  some  localities,  close  to  the 
towns  and  villages,  the  bear-paths  are  plenty,  and  worn 
quite  smooth,  and  I  have  been  fooled  more  than  once  by 
following  them  to  a  terminus  too  abrupt  to  be  pleasant. 
During  the  month  of  August  the  mosquitoes  and  flies  are  so 
blood-thirsty  and  persistent  in  the  timber  as  to  drive  not 
only  the  deer,  but  the  bears  themselves  to  high  altitudes. 
It  is  said  that  carcasses  of  dead  bears  have  been  found, 
that  have  manifestly  perished  by  starvation,  having  been 
first  blinded  by  the  flies  so  that  they  could  not  forage. 
Once,  in  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  I  remember  to 
have  seen  a  tame  moose  blinded  in  this  way  so  that  he  was 
unable  to  find  his  way  home,  and  only  a  timely  rescue  saved 
his  life.  In  September  the  snow  on  the  mountains  drives 
the  deer  (black-tails)  down  to  the  water,  and  they  swim  con- 
stantly from  the  mainland  to  the  islands,  many  of  which  are 
interspersed  with  grassy  flats,  where  good  grazing  is  found. 
They  are  then  easily  captured  in  transitu,  often  in  pairs. 
Bears  also  are  caught  in  the  same  way,  the  one  on  board 
the  regular  mail  steamer  having  been  picked  up  en  voyage. 
Deer  shooting  was  once  fine  about  Wrangell,  and  some  of 
the  mission  boys  there  once  brought  in  forty  as  the  result 
of  a  five  days'  hunt.  A  saddle  of  venison  was  then  sold 
for  a  dollar.     But  it  is  different  now. 

The  impenetrable  jungle  of  the  Alaskan  forest,  with  its 
windfalls  of  timber  and  profusion  of  berries  and  succulent 
mosses,  constitutes  both  a  nursery  and  a  protection  for  its 
fauna.  It  is  a  veritable  paradise  for  bears,  whom  neither 
dogs  nor  men  can  reach,  except  at  the  very  season  when  they 
"  hole  in  "  for  the  winter.  The  boldest  and  most  practiced 
Indian  is  afraid  to  go  into  the  woods  for  game,  for  fear  of 
bears.  There  are  bears  enough  in  Alaska — grizzly,cinnamon, 
and  black — to  furnish  every  man  on  the  Pacific  with  a  cap 
and  overcoat,  and  leave  breeding  stock  enough  for  next  year's 
supply.  Besides,  there  is  a  small  albino  bear  found  on  the 
coast,  which  is  known  as  the  coast  bear.  Being  white,  and 
a  good  deal  about  the  ice  in  winter,  some  have  supposed  it 
to  be  a  variety  of  polar  bear,  but  the  zoologists  dispute  it. 

Blue  grouse,  ruffed  grouse,  spruce  grouse,  and  ptarmigan 
are  very  abundant,  but  hard  to  shoot,  and  difficult  to  gather 
when  shot,  by  reason  of  the  forest  jungle.  I  have  heard 
from  those  who  are  familiar  with  them,  their  descriptions  of 
the  grand  scenery  among  the  mountains,  where  crags  and 


FUR,  FISH  AND   GAME.  161 

rocky  peaks  were  alternated  with  deep  canons  in  which  were 
located  many  beautiful  lakes,  fed  by  everlasting  brooks, 
which  found  their  origin  in  great  glaciers  and  immense 
banks  of  perpetual  snow;  of  lofty  barren  plateaus,  where, 
on  the  bare  rocks,  ptarmigan  were  in  profusion  and  of 
sky-parlors  high  above  the  timber  line,  where  the  mountain 
goats  and  sheep  make  their  aerial  home;  but,  as  I  have 
never  reached  the  higher  altitudes,  and  my  own  experience 
in  mountain-climbing  has  been  chiefly  confined  to  beaten 
trails,  I  feel  privileged  to  copy  from  one  of  Capt.  Beard- 
slee's  letters  the  record  of  a  characteristic  trip  accomplished 
by  himself  when  he  had  his  "  land  tacks  "  in  proper  trim  ; 
and  so  I  quote  : 

"  Three-quarters  of  an  hour  carried  us  up  a  height  of 
one  thousand  feet  and  a  distance  of  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  ;  but  we  found,  before  the  trip  was  finished,  that  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  was,  in  some  cases,  a  very  moderate 
amount  of  time  in  which  to  advance  a  quarter  of  the  dis- 
tance. When  at  each  step  the  perpendicular  gain  is  twenty, 
and  the  horizontal  about  three,  inches,  a  mile  is  a  long 
journey.  The  trail  wound  its  way  through  a  dense  forest 
of  great  hemlocks  and  spruce  trees,  with  a  few  yellow  cedar. 
Many  of  the  former  were  of  such  dimensions  that  a  spot  in 
the  Adirondacks,  so  well  covered,  would,  for  its  "  bark  "  or 
"  counts,"  prove  very  valuable.  When  we  reached  Bald 
Mountain,  we  had  traveled  three  miles,  and  had  ascended 
over  three  thousand  feet. 

After  the  first  sharp  rise  of  a  thousand  feet,  we  had  but 
little  ascent  for  a  long  distance,  the  trail  leading  along  a 
sharp  ridge,  or  "  hog-back,"  which,  on  each  side,  was  flanked 
by  deep  ravines,  way  down  in  whose  depths  we  could  hear 
the  rushing  of  waterfalls,  and  -  occasionally  the  click  of  the 
miners'  picks,  for  they  are  prospecting  in  all  directions  ;  but 
we  could  see  nothing,  for  a  dense  fog  filled  the  ravine  and 
hid  from  us  the  grand  mountain  scenery  which  at  this  part 
of  our  journey  we  knew  still  towered  above  us.  An 
occasional  momentary  clearing  away  of  a  small  bit  of  the 
curtain  gave  us  provoking  and  tantalizing  peeps,  but  for  an 
instant.  Once  a  glacier,  not  far  from  us,  cast  loose  from  its 
moorings  and  went  crashing  down  with  thunderous  noise. 
We  were  far  above  the  timber  ;  our  trail  was  no  trail,  for 
we  trod  on  the  primitive  rock  ;  but  there  was  no  danger  of 
our  getting  off  from  it,  for  it  we  could  see,  and  nothing 
else.  Before  we  had  got  out  of  the  timber  my  siwash  gave 
a  low  whistle  and  stopped.  As  I  joined  him  he  pointed  to 
"  chicken,"  and  then,  not  forty  feet  away,  I  saw  my  first 


1 62  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

ptarmigan.  There  were  four,  and  they  ran  behind  a  bus! 
of  low  hemlock,  or  ground  pine.  I  advanced  slowly,  read) 
to  take  them  as  they  rose  ;  but  they  wouldn't  rise,  and 
dodged  in  and  around  that  clump  like  a  woodpecker  around 
a  tree.  So  at  last,  satisfying  the  sportsman  part  of  my  con- 
science by  resolving  to  aim  only  at  their  heads,  I  let  go  at  a 
couple,  who  were  in  line,  and  killed  them,  the  other  falling 
to  my  friend's  shot,  as  he  rose  at  last.  The  birds  were 
simply  beautiful  ;  their  backs  and  tail  feathers  were  like 
those  of  our  ruffed  grouse  ;  their  wings  and  breasts  pure 
white. 

There  seems  to  be  two  varieties  of  this  bird.  Those  found 
at  this  level  are  as  I  have  described  ;  higher  up  they  are 
nearly  snow  white,  with  black  tail  feathers  bordered  with 
white,  and  the  dark  feathers  of  the  back,  instead  of  as  with 
those  found  lower  down,  being  brown  grouse-colored  and 
predominating,  are  nearly  black,  and  simply  amount  to  spots, 
for  each  dark  feather  is  surrounded  with  white.  They  may 
be  the  same  bird,  at  different  stages  of  transformation. 
They  weigh  about  a  pound  each  (six  averaged  fifteen  and 
one-half  ounces,  the  heaviest  weighing  eighteen),  and  are 
very  delicious,  especially  at  this  season,  when  their  food  is 
almost  altogether  huckleberries  ;  later  they  feed  on  spruce 
and  other  bitter  food,  and  their  flavor  suffers.  They  are 
very  tender.  No.  7  shot  were  very  killing,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  preserve  a  good  specimen.  The  feathers 
came  out  in  handsful,  as  they  were  gathered,  and  our  dog's 
mouth  looked  as  though  he  had  the  hydrophobia,  so 
thoroughly  blood-and-feathered  was  it.  In  skinning,  the 
skin  tore  like  wet  blotting-paper,  and  an  attempt  to  carry 
one  by  the  leg  involved  a  fracture  of  the  same,  if  held  at  any 
angle.  They  are  full-blooded,  bleed  a  great  deal,  and,  I 
should  judge,  very  hot-blooded,  for  they  spread  themselves 
in  great  flocks  on  the  surface  of  the  snow  patches,  with 
wings  extended,  as  hens  when  dusting  themselves.  They 
have  a  peculiar  call,  a  grating  sound,  which  often  betrayed 
to  us  their  vicinity  when  the  fog  was  too  dense  for  us  to  see 
them.  As  we  got  above  the  snow  we  could  get  a  view  of  a 
portion  of  the  banks  nearest  to  us,  and  saw  on  it  many 
birds,  but  we  soon  learned  that  it  was  mere  slaughter  to 
shoot  them,  or  any  flying  over,  for  they  would  go  sliding 
and  plunging  into  the  abyss  below,  and  our  siwashes  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  trust  themselves  on  to  the  snow,  for 
they  feared  the  starting  of  the  glacier. 

"  We  arrived  at  the  summit  of  this  part  of  the  mountains 
f.t  about  4:30,  and  it  was  clear  erough  for  us  to  obtain  a 


FUR,  FISH  AND   GAME.  165 

splendid  view  of  Bald  Mountain  Peak,  a  few  hundred  feet 
above  us,  and  at  our  feet,  a  thousand  feet  below,  two  beau- 
tiful lakes  on  terraces,  connected  by  a  stream,  near  which 
we  saw  the  cabins  of  the  Witch  miners,  their  arastra  and 
their  mine  some  hundred  feet  up  the  opposite  wall  of  the 
canon.  The  second  day  the  fog  had  turned  into  rain,  but 
we  were  as  determined  as  the  youth  who  "bore,  mid  snow 
and  ice,"  etc.,  and  determined  to  go  on  and  up,  for  beyond 
and  above  us  were  ledges  and  birds  well  worth  going  for." 

A  recital  of  the  remainder  of  the  ascent  would  be  chiefly 
a  repetition,  but  clambering  among  the  rocks  is  far  less 
severe  than  tracking  through  the  woods.  There  are  those 
who  make  it  a  business  to  hunt  the  wild  goats  in  these 
rough  and  almost  inaccessible  regions,  and  the  number  of 
these  animals  killed  must  be  very  considerable  to  supply 
the  quantity  of  wool  used  in  making  the  native  blankets 
and  the  horns  for  the  manufacture  of  the  many  utensils  and 
ornaments  in  common  use.  Their  pelts  handsomely  dressed, 
are  employed  as  floor  rugs  and  bedding,  and  of  late 
many  entire  specimens  as  well  as  heads,  have  been  stuffed 
and  mounted  for  museums  and  private  collections.  Until 
comparatively  recent  years,  very  little  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  habits  of  the  mountain  goat  was  possessed  even  by 
well  informed  naturalists.  It  was  often  confounded  with 
the  bighorn  sheep,  or  when  referred  to,  assumed  to  be 
identical  with  it.  At  present,  however,  little  remains  to 
discover,  and  it  is,  moreover,  believed  that  in  Alaska  there 
are  not  only  one  but  two  distinct  species.  The  maximum 
of  the  larger  variety  is  fully  150  pounds.  Its  range  is 
from  Montana  to  the  extreme  limit  of  the  Alaskan  chains, 
though  specimens  are  said  to  have  been  met  with  as  far 
south  as  northern  Colorado.  These  goats  are  still  in  con- 
siderable numbers  in  Washington  Territory,  no  less  than 
six  of  them  having  been  shot  on  Mt.  Ranier  by  a  single 
party  in  the  summer  of  1884.  In  British  Columbia  they 
are  abundant,  even  in  the  southern  portion.  I  have  before 
me  the  photographed  result,  taken  in  camp,  of  a  single 
day's  shoot,  on  the  Coast  Range  in  the  district  of  New 
Westminster,  which  shows  six  goats  to  three  guns,  besides 
three  black  bears  and  one  grizzly.  It  is  a  long-bodied, 
humpbacked  animal,  standing  fully  thirty  inches  high,  not 
at  all  like  the  domestic  sheep  in  shape  or  fleece,  with  very 
long  hair,  except  on  the  face  and  legs,  which  is  underlaid  by 
a  fine,  soft,  thick  wool,  the  whole  coat  being  of  a  snow- 
white  color.  The  chin  is  ornamented  with  a  beard-like  tuft 
of  long  hair,  as  in  the  common  goat.     The  horns  are  six 


1 66  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

to  eight  inches  long,  awl-shaped,  ringed  at  the  base  and 
bending  slightly  backward.  These,  like  the  hoofs,  are 
shining  black,  like  polished  ebony,  and  for  ^handles  of 
spoons,  forks,  etc.,  make  beautiful  ornaments  when  skillfully 
carved.  Notwithstanding  its  name,  this  animal  is  regarded 
as  an  antelope  by  naturalists,  and  not  a  goat  at  all.  Its 
true  home  is  among  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  snow-clad 
mountains,  above  timber  line,  where  no  vegetation  grows 
save  mosses,  lichens  and  a  few  alpine  shrubs  and  grasses. 
I  have  met  those  who  liked  the  flavor  of  its  meat  when 
young,  but  generally  it  is  not  esteemed.  It  is  usually  killed 
by  a  method  of  hunting  known  as  stalking,  and  the  regula- 
tion outfit  of  a  native  would  be  a  belted  shirt  of  squirrel- 
skin,  a  grotesque  head-dress  made  of  fur,  close  seal-skin 
bootees  laced  half  way  to  the  knee,  old-time  spears  to  serve 
as  alpen-stocks,  bows  and  arrows,  raw-hide  ropes  and  Hud- 
son Bay  rifles.  Up  on  the  ridges  back  of  Mt.  St.  Elias, 
which  constitute  a  favorite  hunting-ground  for  goats,  is 
found  a  bear  similar  to  the  "  roach-back  "  or  "silver-tip" 
of  the  Rockies,  but  of  a  beautiful  bluish  under-color,  with 
the  tips  of  the  long  hairs  silvery  white.  The  traders  call  it 
"  St.  Elias  silver  bear." 

The  range  of  the  bighorn  sheep  extends  much  further 
60uth  than  the  goats,  even  to  the  mountains  of  Arizona  on 
the  south,  as  well  as  to  the  sphagnous  barrens  of  the 
north.  Its  habitat  is  by  no  means  confined  to  high 
altitudes,  much  less  summits,  though  it  is  restricted  to 
rough  regions.  It  delights  in  table-lands  and  dry  mesas, 
not  so  much  for  the  precarious  pickings  of  their  scant 
vegetation  as  for  the  outlook  they  afford  against  sur- 
prises from  enemies.  Up  to  six  years  ago  it  was  not 
unusual  to  shoot  them  on  the  Yellowstone  river-bluffs  from 
decks  of  passing  steamers,  the  land  back  of  the  bluffs 
*Deing  broken,  but  by  no  means  mountainous.  Stalking  the 
mountain  sheep  is  extremely  delicate  work,  requiring  much 
finesse,  but  as  game  the  animal  may  be  regarded  more 
valuable  than  the  goat,  since  it  affords  not  only  pelt 
and  fleece,  but  estimable  mutton  and  horns  of  much 
value  for  dishes  and  sundry  domestic  utensils.  Not  nearly 
so  many  of  these  are  killed  as  goats  in  Alaska  ;  indeed  the 
latter  are  undoubtedly  far  the  most  numerous  of  the  two. 
Alaska  seems  to  be  the  ultimate  preserve  of  their  breed, 
which  it  will  be  a  pity  to  exterminate  without  an  effort  at 
domestication.  The  sheep  is  much  the  larger  animal, 
reaching  upward  of  200  pounds  in  weight.  It  has  been 
aptly  described  as  having  the  head  of  a  sheep  and  the  body 


FUR,  FISH  AND   GAME.  i6j 

of  a  deer.  The  horns  of  the  male  are  marvelously 
immense,  curving  backward  and  outward  until  they  form  a 
circle  whose  circumference  may  reach  three  feet.  Such  a 
horn  would  measure  six  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
make  a  dish  which,  when  split,  steamed,  spread  and  shaped, 
would  measure  almost  a  foot  in  width,  with  length  to  suit. 
The  horns  are  often  badly  splintered  as  the  result  of  fight- 
ing, but  not  from  pitching  headlong  over  precipices,  accord- 
ing to  hunters'  fables.  The  female  horn  is  much  smaller  and 
nearly  erect,  with  very  little  backward  curve,  a  fact  which  will 
readily  account  for  their  being  confounded  with  mountain 
goats  by  inexperienced  persons  who  perhaps  never  saw  them 
except  at  a  distance.  The  color,  however,  should  readily  dis- 
tinguish the  two,  as  the  sheep  in  summer  area  wood-brown, 
and  often  darker,  while  in  winter  they  are  never  pure  white 
like  the  goats.  The  legs  and  belly,  however,  and  a  portion 
of  the  buttocks  are  white.  In  spring  the  old  rams  are  a 
dingy  white.  Outwardly  the  coat  is  stiff  and  wire-haired, 
not  half  the  length  of  the  goat's,  but  it  is  underlaid  by  a 
fine,  thick  wool.  Successful  hunters  stalk  them  in  the 
early  morning  when  they  are  feeding  low  down,  after  first 
having  climbed  convenient  heights  to  reconnoiter.  When 
a  herd  is  discovered,  the  most  cautious,  patient  and  wily 
hunter,  who  takes  a  judicious  advantage  of  such  inequali- 
ties of  the  land  as  favor  his  approaching  unobserved,  will 
bring  in  the  most  meat.  At  noon  the  sheep  retire  to  the 
sky-parlors  for  rumination  and  siestas. 

Since  the  mining  rush  began  in  1892,  moose  and  cari- 
boo have  furnished  most  of  the  fresh  meat  for  the  eastern 
camps  and  reindeer  for  the  northwest.  Hunting  for  big 
game  for  sport  has  been  much  in  vogue  in  southeastern 
Alaska,  and  animals  of  immense  size  have  been  shot, moose 
weighing  1,400  pounds  and  bears  twelve  feet  long.  Some 
antlers  had  a  spread  of  over  six  feet.  Apprehending  ex- 
termination, a  stringent  game  law  has  been  formulated. 
[See  Appendix  A.]  The  headwaters  of  the  Kuskokwim 
is  now  the  principal  big  game  region,  about  four  hundred 
miles  square.  Propagation  of  reindeer  under  government 
auspices  in  northwestern  Alaska  provides  for  the  eco- 
nomic needs  of  that  section.  There  are  about  16,000  of 
them  now.  The  breeding  of  blue  foxes  for  their  hides, 
which  fetch  from  $35  to  $75  a  pelt  in  London  and  St. 
Petersburg,  is  practiced  on  forty  or  more  islands  along 
the  coast,  and  a  good  many  natives  own  blue  fox  ranches 
on  a  small  scale.  A  complete  first-class  ranche  costs  about 
$15,000.    The  fur  business  in  Alaska  is  looking  up. 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS. 


The  excursion  steamers  which  make  their  weekly  trips 
from  Seattle,  Wash.,  to  Sitka  and  beyond,  cruise  along-  two 
thousand  miles  of  Alaskan  coast.  No  fewer  than  six  large 
glaciers  can  be  seen,  including  the  Davidson,  Sundown, 
Brady,  Patterson,  Taku,  and  Muir.  The  foot  of  the  Brady 
glacier,  in  Taylor  Bay,  is  estimated  to  be  from  four  to  six 
miles  wide.  It  has  not  been  visited  much  and  no  measure- 
ments have  been  made  ;  but  on  a  clear  day  not  only  it  and 
its  well  defined  moraine,  but  the  magnificent  Fairweather 
group  of  mountains,  sixteen  thousand  feet  high,  with  La 
Perouse  and  Crillon,  in  which  so  many  glaciers  take  their 
rise,  are  all  in  full  view.  A  more  magnificent  sight  is  rarely 
seen,  and  those  who  have  had  opportunities  in  Europe  say 
that  there  is  nothing  to  compare  with  it  there,  certainly  in 
purely  glacial  scenery.  The  Muir  and  Davidson  glaciers 
are  spurs  or  outflows  of  the  same  ice-field,  which  has  an 
unbroken  expanse  of  four  hundred  miles — large  enough  to 
lie  over  the  whole  domain  of  Switzerland.  The  Muir  is  the 
ultimate  objective  point  of  sight-seers,  who,  by  the  time  they 
have  become  accustomed  to  the  unfamiliar  blending  of 
Mediterranean  with  Alpine  scenery  so  exclusively  charac- 
teristic of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  are  partially  prepared  for 
the  astounding  revelation  which  presently  awaits  them  at 
the  head  of  Glacier  Bay.  This  bay  is  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  north-east  of  Sitka,  and  lies  in  latitude 
fifty-nine  degrees  and  twenty  minutes.  It  is,  therefore,  the 
most  northern  point  reached  on  the  regular  trips  of  the 
excursion  steamers.  Sitka  has  yet  to  be  visited,  but 
that  polyglot  settlement  lies  south.  It  occupies  a  secondary 
place  in  the  anticipations  of  those  whose  conceptions  of  a 
glacier  have  been  inspired  by  visions  or  readings  of  the 
Matterhorn  or  Rhone.  Briefly  this  whole  region  is  full  of 
glaciers,  although  under  the  fervid  sun  of  July  it  would 
seem  as  if  every  thing  in  the  shape  of  ice  and  snow  would 
speedily  melt. 

Until   a   comparatively  recent  period,  glacial  dynamics 
have  remained  to  a  certain  extent  a  matter  of  theory.     The 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS.  169 

birth  of  an  iceberg  is  said  to  be  a  phenomenon  unknown  in 
Europe.  On  that  continent  the  glacial  force  is  almost  spent, 
and  he  who  would  witness  the  mighty  outcome  of  its  latent 
power  must  seek  it  on  the  confines  of  the  New  World.  He 
will  not  find  it  in  the  fastnesses  of  Switzerland.  There  the 
once  overwhelming  accumulations  of  snow,  which  filled  the 
mountain  valleys  to  the  level  of  their  topmost  peaks,  no 
longer  supply  the  glacial  streams  with  material  for  bergs. 
The  ice-fields  have  dwindled  to  insignificant  areas,  and 
their  discharge  is,  for  the  most  part,  fluvial,  though  much  of 
their  bulk  is  dissipated  by  evaporation  or  absorption  into 
the  warm  earth  of  the  lower  altitudes.  But  in  Greenland, 
which  has  recently  been  investigated  by  sundry  explorers, 
the  ice-fields  are  found  to  cover  the  country  like  a  pall  for 
two  thousand  five  hundred  miles  from  Cape  Farewell  to 
the  furthest  discovered  point,  and  their  breadth  is  not  fully 
determined.  Out  of  the  almost  interminable  waste  of  frigid 
desolation  pours  the  great  glacier  Sermitsialik,  with  a  width 
of  from  two  to  four  miles,  completely  occupying  the  valley 
out  of  which  it  debouches  to  the  depth  of  two  thousand  feet 
or  more.  It  is  only  one  of  hundreds  of  similar  frozen  rivers, 
all  of  which,  as  far  as  is  known,  are  pigmies  beside  the  great 
Humboldt  glacier  discovered  by  Dr.  Kane  at  the  head  of 
Smith  Sound.  This  is  sixty  miles  in  width,  with  inclosing 
walls  of  rock  a  thousand  feet  high.  Its  front  abuts  the  sea, 
and  is  washed  by  the  waves  like  any  other  coast  line. 

From  these  Titanic  sources  of  perpetual  supply  are 
emitted  those  stupendous  icebergs  which  fill  the  north 
Atlantic  from  June  to  August  to  such  an  extent  that  dozens 
can  be  counted  from  the  masthead  within  the  scope  of  view. 
The  dimensions  of  some  of  them  are  incredible.  I  have 
seen  one  off  the  coast  of  Labrador  which  was  estimated  to 
be  two  miles  long  and  three  hundred  feet  high  ;  and  this 
great  mass  was  sloughed  off  entire  from  the  Humboldt  sea 
wall  with  one  tremendous  cleavage.  From  the  Muir  I  have 
seen  the  like  cleavage  occur.  Such  mountains  of  ice  are 
perpetually  falling  all  along  the  line,  with  an  intermittent 
crash  and  roar  like  the  tumult  of  a  tempest.  The  din  of  the 
great  commotion  can  be  heard  for  miles ;  and  even  after 
they  are  adrift  in  the  warmer  currents  of  more  southern 
latitudes  where  they  melt  and  diminish  by  the  sea's  ero- 
sion, they  are  constantly  turning  over  and  over  in  the  ef- 
fort to  keep  their  balance,  and  the  noise  and  commotion  of 
the  heaving  waters  is  heard  for  distances  of  miles.  The 
Eskimos,  it  is  told  by  the  Danish  explorers,  regard  all 
this  as  the  work  of  evil  spirits,  and  believe  that  to  look 


170 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


upon  these  agonizing  throes  is  death ;  so,  while  they  were 
innocently  observing  their  phenomena  through  their 
glasses,  the  timid  natives,  usually  circumspect  enough, 
roughly  ordered  them  to  turn  their  backs ! 

The  glaciers  of  the  North  Pacific  are  much  smaller  than 
those  of  Greenland,  but  the  Muir,  before  the  earthquake, 
was  three  miles  long,  with  a  perpendicular  face  of  four 
hundred  feet,  stretching  like  a  frozen  waterfall  or  gigan- 
tic dam  entirely  across  the  head  of  the  bay.  Its  breast  was 
as  blue  as  turquoise.  At  a  distance  it  look  like  a  fillet  rent 
from  the  azure  sky  and  laid  across  the  brow  of  the  cliff. 
When  the  full  blaze  of  the  south-western  sun  lights  up  its 
opalescence,  it  gleams  like  the  gates  of  the  celestial  city.  I 
suppose  that  an  iceberg  of  no  insignificant  size  is  sloughed 
off  from  some  portion  of  its  sea  wall  as  often  as  once  in 
five  minutes,  but  these  detachments  seldom  represent  more 
than  a  limited  section,  and  most  of  them  break  up  into 
comparatively  small  fragments  before  they  are  fairly 
launched  on  their  seaward  journey.  It  is  an  axiom  that 
mechanical  forces  are  best  comprehended  by  their  prod- 
ucts ;  so  that  no  one  can  begin  to  realize  what  a  stupendous 
factor  a  glacier  is  until  he  sees  the  measure  of  its  infinite 
power  thus  made  supremely  manifest.  Visitors  are  told 
that  glaciers  move  at  the  rate  of  so  many  feet  or  inches 
daily.  Ocular  evidence  may  be  obtained  by  fixed  land- 
marks, which  indicate  a  stated  progression.  From  the  size 
and  frequency  of  the  cleavages  here  it  would  seem  that  the 
progress  of  the  Muir  must  be  several  rods  a  day,  though 
an  estimate  can  only  be  approximated,  as  there  is  no  true 
alignment,  and  the  center  moves  faster  than  the  sides. 

Long  before  the  steamer  reaches  the  entrance  of  Glacier 
Bay  straggling  lumps  of  ice  appear,  dazzling  white,  and 
resting  like  blocks  of  marble  on  the  polished  sea,  which  is 
scarcely  moved  by  an  imperceptible  swell  pulsating  through 
the  Sound.  The  sun  is  warm  and  grateful,  and  the  sky 
without  a  cloud,  excepting  those  which  stretch  like  filmy 
gauze  from  peak  to  peak,  the  temperature  perhaps  60  de- 
grees in  the  shade.  Half  of  the  passengers  have  never 
seen  an  ice-cake,  and  they  are  eager  with  excitement  to  get 
nearer  the  polar  videttes  which  are  drifting  by,  away  off 
under  the  land.  The  course  of  the  vessel  bears  gradually 
toward  the  headland  at  the  entrance,  and  the  lumps  of  ice 
become  more  numerous.  Bevies  of  ladies  rush  to  the  taff- 
rail  as  one  of  them  passes  close  under  the  counter.  Pres- 
ently a  passing  promontory  opens  out  a  large  iceberg  of 
fantastic  shape,  and  then  another,  tall  and  stately,  with 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS.  171 

turrets  like  a  castle.  Sea  gulls,  hagden  and  shags  hover 
about  their  gleaming  walls  like  snow-flakes  in  the  air,  or 
sit  in  solemn  ranks  upon  the  battlements.  Objects  change 
positions  constantly,  and  countermarch  across  the  field  of 
view.  Fancies  dissolve  before  they  are  formed.  Reflections 
from  the  land  appear  in  darksome  shades  across  the  water, 
and  from  the  looming  icebergs  in  tremulous  semblances, 
ghost-like  and  pallid.  The  scenic  effects,  at  once  so  mag- 
ical and  duplicated  everywhere,  grow  momentarily  more 
weird. 

Meantime,  the  steamer  slacks  her  headway,  slows  down, 
and  presently  with  a  sullen  thud,  lies  alongside  a  small 
berg,  whose  rounded  apex  peers  up  over  the  deadeyes  into 
the  head  of  the  companionway,  looking  for  all  the  world  as 
if  it  was  going  to  come  aboard.  All  the  curious  ladies  pipe 
a  combination  scream,  and  make  for  the  door  of  the  cap- 
tain's stateroom.  Then  the  quarter  boat  is  swung  out  of 
the  davits  and  lowered  away  ;  and  the  steward  and  the 
mate  and  the  sailors  tackle  the  glistening  harlequin  with 
pikes  and  axes,  and,  after  much  chopping  and  maneuvering 
with  bights  and  bowlines,  contrive  to  split  off  a  big  lump, 
and  hoist  it  inboard  with  a  sling.  This  supply  is  for  the 
ice-chest.  How  pure,  and  cold,  and  beautiful,  and  trans- 
parent it  is  !  How  precious  to  passengers  who  have  been 
for  two  days  stinted,  and  to  the  steward  whose  meat  was 
likely  to  spoil  !  The  chunks  cut  off  seem  colorless,  but  the 
central  core  of  the  berg  itself  glows  like  a  great  blue  eye, 
sentient  and  expressive,  with  that  sort  of  poetical  light 
termed  "  spirtuelle."  You  never  tire  of  gazing  into  the 
translucent  depths  of  the  glacier  ice,  whose  radiance  emu- 
lates the  blue  and  green  of  beryl,  turquoise,  chrysoprase  and 
emerald.  You  gaze  into  them  as  into  the  arcana  of  the 
empyrean,  with  some  vague  awe  of  their  mysterious  source, 
and  the  intangible  causes  which  gave  them  birth.  And 
the  grand  icebergs  ! — so  cold,  yet  so  majestic  ;  so  solid,  yet 
so  unsubstantial ;  so  massive,  yet  so  ethereal ! — whose  bas- 
tions are  mighty  enough  to  shiver  an  onset,  and  yet  so  vola- 
tile that  the  warmth  of  wooing  spring  will  dissipate  them 
into  vapor.  Children  of  the  Arctic  frost,  conceived  in  the 
upper  air,  inspired  by  the  effulgent  sun,  and  molded  in 
the  bowels  of  intensest  congelation  :  the  human  mind  can 
not  contemplate  them  without  a  sympathetic  inspiration,  for 
their  duplex  entity  is  so  like  our  combination  of  soul  and 
body  ! 

Who  will  tell  me  what  paints  the  ice-bergs,  and  gives  the 
sky  its  blue;  colors  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  and  imparts  to 


1 72  'PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

Niagara  its  hues  of  intensest  green  ?  Behind  an  intelligi- 
ble explanation  lies  the  revelation  which  all  men  wish  to 
know.     Let  us  wait. 

A  stiff  breeze  was  blowing  as  we  entered  Glacier  Bay, 
and  the  breath  came  bitterly  cold  from  off  the  ice  field. 
The  bay  was  filled  with  floating  bergs  and  floes,  and  the 
temperature  dropped  quite  rapidly  to  46  degrees.  The 
ruffled  surface  of  the  water  assumed  that  peculiar  tinge  of 
cold  steel-gray  which  landscapes  wear  in  winter.  The  at- 
mosphere put  on  a  sympathetic  hue  and  grew  perceptibly 
denser.  Snow  covered  all  the  peaks,  and  the  me r  de  glace 
spread  out  before  us  like  a  great  white  apron  on  the  lap  of 
the  mountain.  It  is  fourteen  miles  from  the  entrance  to 
the  head  of  the  bay,  and  over  the  entire  landscape  nature 
seemed  dead.  Not  a  living  thing  appeared — not  a  gull  on 
the  wing,  nor  a  seal  in  the  gloomy  fiords.  Desolation 
reigned  throughout,  for  there  was  nothing  to  sustain  life. 
The  creation  was  all  new,  and  the  glacier  was  still  at  work 
gradually  preparing  it  for  the  abode  of  organic  life.  Dark- 
ness only  was  needed  to  relegate  us  to  the  primordium  of 
chaos.  But  the  sun  was  bright  on  the  distant  peaks,  which 
inclosed  the  bay  on  all  sides,  and  their  intangible,  ghostly 
outlines,  scarcely  distinguished  from  the  fleecy  clouds 
about  them,  seemed  indefinitely  beyond  the  convex  line 
of  earth.  Seldom  are  mundane  gloom  and  supernal  glory 
contrasted  by  such  startling  juxtaposition. 

As  the  steamer  neared  the  glacier,  speculations  began 
respecting  the  height  of  its  perpendicular  front,  but  no  one 
guessed  higher  than  the  vessel's  topmast.  It  was  only 
when  she  lay  anchored  in  ninety  fathoms  of  water,  close 
under  the  ice,  and  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  shore,  that 
spectators  began  to  conceive  the  magnitude  of  the  glacier 
and  all  its  surroundings.  The  glacier  wall  overhung  us 
with  its  mighty  majesty,  three  times  the  height  of  the 
steamer's  mast,  or  more,  and  we  seemed  none  too  far  away 
to  escape  the  constantly  cleaving  masses  which  dropped 
from  its  face  with  deafening  detonations.  The  foam 
which  gathered  from  the  impetus  of  the  plunges  surged  up- 
ward fully  two-thirds  of  the  height  of  the  cliff,  and  the 
resulting  swell  tossed  the  large  steamer  like  a  toy,  and 
rolled  up  in  breakers  of  surf  upon  the  beach.  The  vessel 
was  in  actual  danger  from  the  fragments  of  ice  which  occa- 
sionally thumped  against  her  sides.  Indeed,  her  wheels  were 
afterward  badly  mashed  in  making  her  way  out  of  the  bay 
into  open  water.  A  paddle-wheel  steamer  is  unfit  for  such 
navigation. 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS.  1 73 

The  glacier  wall  is  by  no  means  smooth,  but  is  seamed 
and  riven  in  every  part  by  clefts  and  fissures.  It  is  hol- 
lowed into  caverns  and  grottoes,  hung  with  massive  stalac- 
tites, and  fashioned  into  pinnacles  and  domes.  Every  sec- 
tion and  configuration  has  its  heart  of  translucent  blue  or 
green,  interlaced  or  bordered  by  fretted  frost-work  of 
intensest  white;  so  that  the  appearance  is  at  all  times 
gnome-like  and  supernatural.  No  portion  of  the  wall  ever 
seems  to  pitch  forward  all  at  once  in  a  sheer  fall  from  top 
to  bottom,  but  sections  split  off  from  the  buttresses,  or 
drop  from  midway,  or  the  top.  The  apparent  slowness  of 
their  descent  is  sublimity  itself,  because  it  carries  with  it 
the  measure  of  its  stupendous  vastness  and  inappreciable 
height. 

Impressions  of  magnitude  and  majesty,  I  opine,  are  not 
conveyed  so  much  by  any  relative  standard  of  comparison 
as  by  the  degree  with  which  we  come  within  the  range  of 
their  power  or  influence.  One  must  realize  before  he  can 
appreciate,  and  he  can  not  realize  fully  until  he  becomes  to 
a  certain  extent  a  participator.  Proximity  shudders  arid 
trembles  at  what  remoteness  and  impunity  view  with  dis- 
passionate equanimity.  I  can  not  conceive  how  any  one 
can  sit  close  by  and  contemplate  without  emotion  the  stu- 
pendous throes  which  give  birth  to  the  icebergs,  attended 
with  detonations  like  explosions  of  artillery,  and  reverber- 
ations of  thunder  across  the  sky,  and  the  mighty  wreckage 
which  follows  each  convulsion.  Nevertheless,  I  have  seen 
a  lady  loll  with  complaisance  in  her  steamer  chair,  com- 
fortably wrapped  from  the  chilly  air,  and  observe  the 
astounding  scene  with  the  same  languid  contemplation  that 
she  would  discuss  her  social  fixtures  and  appointments. 
Zounds  !  I  believe  that  such  a  human  negation  would 
calmly  view  the  wreck  of  worlds,  and  hear  the  crack  of 
doom  at  the  final  rendering,  if  it  did  not  affect  "  her  set." 
She  could  watch  at  a  suitable  distance  the  agonies  of 
Christian  martyrs;  the  carnage  of  great  battles  ;  the  sweep 
of  cyclones;  and  diluvial  submergence.  Dynamite  would 
not  appall  her — but  to  me  it  would  be  the  acme  of  satis- 
faction, ineffably  supreme,  to  startle  such  clods  of  in- 
anition by  a  cry  of  "  mouse,"  and  electrify  them  into  a 
momentary  emotion.  No  vinaigrette  would  ever  mitigate 
the  shock. 

I  say,  one  can  not  estimate  the  magnitude  of  these  glacial 
phenomena  by  contiguous  objects,  because  they  are  all  un- 
familiar. The  steamer  itself,  although  considerable  in  size, 
seems  like  an  atom.     As  for  the  rest,  the  fragments  of  ice 


174  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

which  are  seen  stranded  along  the  beach,  looking  no  larger 
than  blocks,  measure  twelve  feet  high.  Those  lumps  drift- 
ing past  yonder  fiord  are  icebergs  higher  than  our  topmast. 
The  other  side  of  the  bay  which,  we  imagine,  one  could  swim 
across  with  ease,  is  five  miles  off.  The  ice  ledge  itself  is 
four  hundred  feet  high.  The  peaks  in  the  distance,  forty 
miles  away,  are  sixteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  There  is  the  Devil's  Thumb,  looking  no  higher  than 
the  Washington  Monument,  a  sheer  monolith  six  thousand 
feet  high,  with  faces  almost  perpendicular.  The  timber 
line  around  the  feet  of  the  distant  ranges  resembles  a  cinc- 
ture of  moss. 

From  a  pinnacle  of  elevation  overlooking  the  Muir  ice 
field,  which  is  obtained  by  an  arduous  half  day's  climb, 
although  some  expected  to  accomplish  it  in  an  hour,  one  can 
count  no  less  than  fifteen  tributary  glacial  streams,  any  one 
of  which  is  as  large  as  the  great  Rhone  glacier. 

Drawn  from  the  inexhaustible  but  annually  diminishing 
accumulations  of  snow  which  fill  the  mountain  valleys  to  a 
d*pth  of  at  least  2,000  feet,  these  separate  streams  of  plastic 
congelation  unite  like  the  strands  of  a  rope  to  form  the 
irresistible  current  of  the  Muir.  The  surface  of  the  glacier 
is  not  uniformly  level  and  smooth  like  a  boulevard.  It  has 
its  drifts  and  dykes,  its  cascades,  riffs,  and  rapids,  like  any 
unfrozen  river.  In  the  immediate  front,  and  extending  a 
mile  or  more  back,  its  whole  surface  is  the  most  rugged 
formation  imaginable.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  any 
living  creature  to  traverse  it,  being  in  fact  a  compacted 
aggregation  of  wedge-shaped  and  rounded  cones  of  solid  ice, 
capped  by  discolored  and  disintegrating  snow.  But  away 
back  in  the  mountain  passes  it  is  easily  traversed  with  sledges 
or  snow  shoes.  Indians  cross  the  divide  at  sundry  places 
all  along  the  coast  from  the  Stickeen  to  Copper  River. 

Looking  afar  off  into  the  blank  perspective  the  icy  re-en- 
forcements which  pour  out  of  the  mountain  fastnesses  like 
gathering  clans  seem  compacted  into  indefinable  fleecy 
masses,  while  in  the  immediate  van  they  pass  in  review  in 
serried  phalanxes  of  cowled  and  hooded  monks  twenty  feet 
tall,  wrapped  in  dirty  toques  and  capuchins,  snow  powdered, 
and  bedraggled,  and  pressing  forward  with  never-ceasing 
march,  as  if  all  the  life-long  denizens  of  the  Gothard  and 
St.  Bernard  had  set  out  at  once  to  temper  their  frigid  tongues 
in  the  tepid  waters  which  are  warmed  by  the  Kuro-Siwo. 
In  other  places,  where  the  mer-de-glace  is  level  like  a  plain, 
its  surface  is  seamed  with  deep  crevasses  and  slashed  with 
rifts  and  chasms  whose  sides  and  walls  deep  down  for  sixty 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS.  175 

feet  are  dazzling  blue.  Thus  the  incipient  bergs  are  split 
and  carved  and  chiseled  and  prepared  for  their  final  segre- 
gation, so  that  they  will  break  off  easily  when  they  reach 
the  front. 

Meantime  the  sub-glacial  river  which  is  flowing  under- 
neath buoys  up  the  ice  and  floats  it  to  the  sea.  It  is  esti- 
mated, by  soundings  made  as  near  as  vessels  dare  approach, 
that  it  is  fully  eight  hundred  feet  deep.  The  water  flows 
beneath  the  glacier,  just  as  it  does  under  the  deposit  of  a 
snow-laden  roof,  forming  icicles  at  the  eaves.  To  this 
mighty  channel,  between  its  flanking  slopes  of  rock,  the 
glacier  is  at  last  restricted.  Evidences  are  abundant  that  it 
is  continually  receding.  They  are  scored  high  up  on  the 
abutting  rocks  by  the  adamantine  ice.  They  are  attested  by 
the  stranded  debris  of  the  lateral  moraines,  and  recorded 
in  the  written  narratives  of  Vancouver,  who  speaks  of  his 
inability  to  enter  this  bay  in  1793,  which  is  now  navigable 
fourteen  miles  inland.  Once  the  ice-field  was  level  with 
the  distant  mountain  tops ;  now  it  has  settled,  with  melting 
and  thaw,  until  the  peaks  are  far  above  the  surface.  The 
annual  accumulations  are  dissolving  and  diminishing  faster 
than  they  can  be  replenished,  and  centuries  hence  snow  will 
no  longer  be  perpetual  in  the  valleys.  The  warm  hills  will 
throw  off  their  useless  mantle,  and  nothing  will  remain  of 
the  Muir  glacier  except  a  goodly  stream  and  some  tribu- 
tary rills  leaping  with  a  musical  cadence  from  the  vernal 
melting  among  the  peaks.  The  deep  and  cavernous  gully 
which  now  retains  the  sub-glacial  outflow  of  the  ice-field 
will  become  an  estuary  of  the  ocean,  and  the  legend  of  the 
Muir  will  be  illustrated  in  parti-colored  tapestry  lining  the 
verdant  slopes  and  meadows  with  flowers  and  foliage.  Per- 
haps some  goodly  village  will  nestle  at  the  terminal  moraine, 
as  it  now  does  in  the  Matterhorh  among  the  Alps.  Then  all 
the  soil  deposited  in  the  valleys  and  upon  the  hillsides  will  tell 
us  of  the  wear  and  tear  which  even  now  is  grinding  down 
the  mountains,  of  the  denudation,  pulverizing,  leveling,  and 
filling  up  of  which  the  glacier  has  been  the  potent  agent 
since  the  world  began. 

Glaciers  always  carry  on  their  frozen  tide  great  bowlders 
and  masses  of  stones  and  rock  wrenched  from  the  mountain 
sides,  just  as  rivers  carry  logs  and  drift.  Whatever  is  not 
deposited  along  its  course  is  carried  out  to  sea  by  the  ice- 
bergs to  strew  the  ocean  bottom,  precisely  as  we  find  them 
on  our  Western  plains,  where  they  were  deposited  when  the 
salt  waves  covered  their  unlimited  expanse. 

Some  of  the  lateral  moraines  (as  the  dry  beds  of  spent 


176  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

glacial  outlets  are  termed)  are  still  underlaid  by  an  ice 
stratum  200  feet  thick,  which  became  detached  from  the 
main  body  of  the  glacier  many  decades  since.  It  will  take 
a  half  century  to  melt  it.  Clambering  over  these  is  no 
child's  play.  Visitors  should  be  prepared  with  waterproof 
anglers'  wading  trowsers  and  alpen-stocks  and  hob-nail 
shoes,  leaving  all  top  coats  and  superlluous  wraps  where 
they  can  be  resumed  after  the  jaunt  is  finished.  Rubber 
shoes  or  boots  are  liable  to  be  torn  to  shreds.  There  are 
spots,  looking  like  solid  earth,  which  often  prove  to  be  mud- 
holes  of  uncertain  depth.  Bowlders  are  everywhere — 
bowlders,  ice,  and  slimy  silt,  or  till,  and  nothing  else.  Bot- 
tomless crevasses  head  you  off  at  every  turn.  To  land  dry- 
shod  from  the  boats  is  not  easy,  on  account  of  the  surf. 

Altogether,  it  is  astonishing  what  a  minimum  of  distance 
or  altitude  one  can  accomplish  with  a  maximum  of  clamber- 
ing and  perspiration,  even  with  the  chill  wind  blowing  fresh  ; 
for  every  object  sought  is  at  least  five  times  the  distance 
guessed  at,  and  the  road  is  hard,  indeed,  to  travel.  Never- 
theless, the  ladies  are  generally  foremost,  and  old  Swiss 
explorers  will  distance  all  the  rest. 

It  is  a  consolation  and  a  comfort,  when  on  the  apex  of 
the  moraine,  with  the  polar  desolation  all  around,  and  every 
resource  of  succor  or  deliverance  clean  cut  off,  to  look  far 
down  upon  the  little  object  which  is  our  only  hope — the 
steamer,  which  seems  an  atom  more  than  ever — and  know 
that  although  the  bay  be  filled  with  floes,  there  is  open  water 
and  safety  and  genial  climate  just  beyond,  and  that 
no  hopeless  Arctic  winters  intervene.  By  some  trivial 
accident,  possible  enough,  a  party  of  excursionists  might  be 
left  in  a  situation  almost  as  hopeless  as  the  hapless  sufferers 
of  the  Lena.  The  perils  are  precisely  the  same,  modified 
only  by  the  relative  accessibility  of  succor,  and  therefore  too 
much  stress  can  not  be  laid  upon  the  stanchness  of  the  ves- 
sels sent  into  the  ice. 

Years  ago  the  citizens  of  St.  Paul  built  winter  ice-pal- 
aces, all  illuminated  with  electric  lights,  and  all  the  heav- 
enly planets  lent  their  aid  to  make  resplendent.  At  night 
when  the  full  moon  shone  upon  its  crystal  walls  and  battle- 
ments, and  their  translucence  was  reflected,  it  looked  more 
like  an  ethereal  creation  than  one  of  substance.  It  was 
stately  in  its  magnificence  and  overwhelming  in  its  super- 
natural majesty.  But  what  shall  compare  with  the  Muir 
glacier  when  the  moonlight  is  upon  it,  and  all  the  phosphor- 
escence of  the  Pacific  Ocean  beats  in  billows  of  liquid  flame 
against  its  toppling,  crumbling  walls  ?  When  lunar  rainbows 


THE  GLACIER  FIELDS.  177 

are  tossed  in  air  against  the  mounting  columns  of  foam 
that  are  shivered  into  spray  by  the  plunging  mountains  of 
ice  ?  In  the  everlasting  tumult,  and  whirl,  and  crash  of 
explosions  which  seem  to  split  the  glacier  itself  from  front 
to  mountain  source,  when  nothing  at  all  takes  definite  shape 
upon  the  ghostly  'nterchange  of  lights  and  shades,  one  can 
imagine  only  the  revels  of  chaos  and  the  scroll  rolled  back 
to  the  genesis  of  creation. 

But  these  are  reminiscences.  What  of  the  Muir  to- 
day? Eh  bienl  In  September,  1899,  it  was  wrecked  by 
a  stupendous  earthquake,  with  Mount  St.  Elias  as  a 
center,  which  shook  up  4,000  square  miles  of  the  western 
territory,  shattering  the  glacier  front  and  setting  it  back 
a  mile,  exposing  the  stumps  and  trunks  of  an  ancient  for- 
est which  was  growing  before  the  ice  sheet  formed!  It 
was  not  a  pleasant  experience  for  any  chance  visitor. 
Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  who  was  at  Yakutat  at  the  time, 
wrote : 

"The  first  shock  was  experienced  on  Sunday,  Septem- 
ber 5.  During  the  following  five  hours  there  were  fifty-two 
distinct  shocks,  culminating  at  3  p.  m.  in  a  shock  so  se- 
vere that  people  of  Yakutat  were  hurled  violently  across 
their  room,  or,  if  outside,  they  were  thrown  to  the 
ground  again  and  again.  Gaining  the  hills  and  looking 
seaward,  they  saw  a  great  tidal  wave,  thirty  feet  high, 
approaching  with  the  speed  of  a  race  horse,  that  would 
engulf  their  village  and  sweep  away  their  homes.  Be- 
fore the  shore  was  reached  the  earth  opened  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  harbor,  and  into  this  chasm  the  tidal  wave 
spent  its  force,  and  around  it  the  sea  swirled  like  a  great 
maelstrom.    This  saved  the  village  from  destruction." 

A  special  correspondent  of  the  Scientific  American 
who  was  sent  to  the  field  wrote:  "Many  well-known 
islands  have  been  swallowed  up  and  others  risen  in  their 
places.  Landmarks  well  defined  and  known  to  every  nav- 
igator of  the  coast  have  disappeared,  and  every  glacier 
from  Juneau  and  vicinity,  including  all  those  known  to 
tourists  in  Glacier  Bay  and  elsewhere,  have  suffered 
mutilation.  Volcanoes  are  reported  to  have  been  seen  in 
ranges  where  they  were  never  before  observed.  Along  the 
coast  near  St.  Elias  the  upheaval  was  accompanied  by 
huge  and  devastating  waterspouts,  while  enormous  tidal 
waves  rushed  in  from  the  sea.  Great  rocks  fell  from 
the  sides  of  the  mountains  and  crashed  into  the  valleys 
below.  The  earth  moved  with  awful  velocity  and  undu- 
lation, shaking  mountains  from  their  bases  and  prostrate 

inrr  +V-if>   V>iicrf»    -fr>rf>cf  trppc    nrllioVi    rrwrprcr]    tlipir    clnnpc  I 


SITKA    SOMNOLENT.* 


It  is  a  "  great  day"  for  sleepy  Sitka  when  the  steamer 
comes  up  to  her  wharf  and  makes  fast.  The  whole  town 
rubs  its  eyes  and  turns  out. 

Ever  since  the  previous  sailing  day,  when  the  last  box  of 
freight  was  leisurely  trundled  into  the  warehouse,  it  has 
been  supremely  quiet.  There  has  been  absoltuely  nothing 
to  do.  The  government  vessels  are  off  on  duty  ;  the  miners 
away  at  the  diggings  ;  the  fishing  season  over  ;  half  the  ten- 
ements vacant  ;  no  entries  nor  clearance  at  the  custom  house  ; 
the  governor  is  sticking  type  in  his  printing  office  ;  and  the 
attorneys  are  matching  kopecks  to  see  who  shall  win  the 
next  case.  Down  at  the  Indian  "  ranch  "  the  dogs  are  dozing 
in  the  sun  ;  occasionally  a  Siwash  will  stroll  to  the  beach, 
and  straighten  out  the  mats  which  cover  his  canoe  ;  a  few  of 
the  mission  boys  at  the  far  end  of  the  village  come  in  to 
visit  their  low-down  relations  ;  groups  of  ravens  are  picking 
offal  out  of  the  landwash  ;  a  few  cows  graze  on  the  parade  ; 
the  black  balls  of  the  signal  office  anemometer  scarcely  turn 
in  the  wind. 

Meanwhile  the  melting  snow  from  the  mountains  trickles 
unceasingly  into  the  sea,  and  the  process  of  decay  eats  into 
the  solid  timbers  of  the  old  houses  vacated  by  the  Russians  ; 
the  rickety  wharf  all  deserted,  steams  in  the  humid  atmos- 
phere, and  the  teredos  bore  insidiously  into  the  piles  below 
the  water  line. 

The  last  time  the  steamer  made  fast  to  the  dock,  her  stern- 
line  pulled  off  a  section  of  the  worm-eaten  piling,  and  the 
splash  woke  up  a  couple  of  Siwashes  who  had  been  dozing 
against  the  side  of  the  warehouse  ever  since  the  trip 
before. 

But  "  steamer  day"  is  an  event.  Then  everything  is  dif- 
ferent. The  stars  and  stripes  are  run  up  from  the  marine 
barracks  and  customhouse  ;  all  the  public  offices  are  open  ; 
the  marshal  is  on  the  qui  vive,  and  the  attorneys  have  two 
pens  behind  each  ear  ;  the  war  vessel  comes  into  port  ;  the 
governor  shaves  and  cleans  up  to  receive  his  guests  ;  tawdry 
klootchmen  open  up  their  basket-work,  berries  and  curios 


SITKA  SOMNOLENT.  179 

at  eligible  stands  ;  and  the  distracted  post-master  is  "just 
too  busy  for  any  thing  ;  "  even  the  cows  on  the  parade  are 
too  curious  to  graze  for  looking  at  the  stir. 

As  soon  as  the  brass  gun  of  the  expected  vessel  booms 
among  the  islands  of  the  bay,  the  wharf  is  crowded.  There 
are  just  300  white  people  in  town,  and  that  is  enough  to 
make  a  crowd.  If  the  wharf  should  give  way,  it  would  en- 
gulf the  whole  population — Siwashes  excepted.  There  are 
no  drays  nor  omnibuses  nor  wagons  to  be  seen,  for  there  are 
none  in  town,  and  only  one  horse  to  draw  them  ;  no  hotel 
runners,  for  there  are  no  hotels  ;  no  loud  voiced  newsboys, 
for  there  is  but  one  paper  in  the  place,  and  the  editor  is  too 
modest  to  have  it  hawked  under  his  nose  ;  no  boot-blacks, 
no  policemen,  no  peanut-vendors,  no  little  flower-girls,  no 
any  thing  that  one  might  expect  to  see  at  the  chief  com- 
mercial port  of  one  of  the  biggest  territories  in  the  world.* 
A  few  impatient  passengers  get  ashore  before  the  gang- 
plank is  laid,  and  perhaps  ten  minutes  later  the  entire  com- 
plement of  sightseers  is  scattered  about  the  town.  Into  the 
Graeco-Russian  church  with  its  green-painted  minaret  and 
dome ;  into  the  museum  of  the  marine  barracks  where  there  is 
a  collection  of  native  curios  which  makes  collectors  envious  ; 
up  to  the  "  castle  "  on  an  eminence,  which  was  once  the 
pretentious  residence  of  the  governors  ;  out  to  the  Indian 
"  ranch  "  along  the  shore  front,  and  to  the  Indian  mission  on 
the  curve  of  the  beach,  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  up  to  the 
queer  looking  cemeteries  on  the  ridge,  white  and  native  ; 
and  to  the  old  block-houses  and  the  stockade,  and  trading 
stores,  the  public  offices  and  the  photograph  gallery.  In- 
deed there  is  "  lots  "  to  see  in  Sitka,  and  one  can  remain 
over  one  steamer  and  spend  a  month  most  agreeably,  ex- 
tending his  observations  to  the  environs,  and  for  miles 
around.  Miners  and  toughs  who  come  by  every  steamer, 
camp  out  in  gipsy  fashion,  or  roll  up  in  their  blankets  in 
some  of  the  vacant  rooms  in  the  barn-like  dilapidated  gov- 
ernment buildings,  but  fair  boarding  places  can  be  found 
by  sojourners  after  a  little  inquiry.  At  the  stores  one  can 
buy  almost  any  thing  which  is  to  be  found  at  Victoria  or 
Portland.  Washing  is  done  by  the  Russian  families.  There 
is  no  physician  in  the  place  except  the  naval  surgeon,  and 

*This  cursory  sketch  of  the  lull  which  followed  the  cession  of 
Alaska  to  the  United  States  by  the  Russians,  written  in  1885, 
will  be  referred  to  in  future  history  when  the  "Arctic  Provinces" 
will  have  been  subdivided  into  four  States,  each  humming  with 
a  remunerative  business  activity,  beside  which  that  of  a  majority 
of  the  older  States  as  heard  to-day  will  be  but  a  faint  buzz, 


i8o  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

it  occurs  to  the  author  that  a  fine  opportunity  is  offered 
for  a  worthy  disciple  of  /Esculapius  to  establish  himself  in  a 
good  business  at  Sitka,  as  the  native  Alaskans  need  the 
services  of  a  physician  to  an  alarming  extent. 

During  the  twenty-four  hours  which  the  steamer  is  re- 
quired by  contract  to  remain  in  port,  although  she  frequent- 
ly stays  two  days,  all  the  elite  of  the  town — the  "  leading 
ladies,"  the  Creoles,  the  pure  blood  Russians,  and  the  better 
Klootchmen,  crowd  aboard  to  see  their  metropolitan  sisters, 
and  inspect  the  latest  fashions  ;  the  merchants  and  officials 
obtain  their  mail  matter  and  invoices  ;  the  naval  officers  "  see 
the  boys  "  and  receive  their  magazines  and  newspapers  ; 
if  there  is  any  fresh  beef  or  fruit  to  spare,  it  is  immediately 
bespoken.  Meanwhile  the  busy  Siwashes  on  the  dock  are 
unremittingly  trundling  freight,  and  small  knots  of  privi- 
leged rustics  wander  all  over  the  ship  and  inspect  her  fittings 
and  machinery.  Sometimes  there  is  opportunity  to  make 
side  excursions  to  points  of  interest,  in  respect  to  which  the 
blue  jackets  are  of  essential  service,  as  they  have  a  steam 
launch  and  light  boats  and  are  always  hospitable.  Festivi- 
ties, too,  are  in  order,  and  invitations  are  issued  for  a 
"  grand  ball  "  at  the  castle,  sans  ccremonie,  toilets  at  discre- 
tion. The  invitations  are  general,  for  the  shore  community 
is  not  large  enough  to  cut  up  into  castes.  If  it  were  crit- 
ically  culled  there  wouldn't  be  waltzers  enough  to  go  round, 
for  the  American  population,  all  told,  is  but  sixty.  So 
the  floor  is  sifted  over  with  spermaceti  shavings,  and  an  old 
brass  relic  of  a  Russian  chandelier  is  filled  with  candles  and 
hung  up,  while  a  couple  of  marines  or  waiters  from  the  mail 
steamer  do  excellent  duty  as  musicians  with  banjo  and  ac- 
cordeon.  Slips  and  mishaps  never  mar  such  an  occasion — 
never;  they  embellish  it.  "  Select  your  Klootchmen!  "  and 
"  swing  your  Siwash!  "  fill  up  the  measure  of  shuffling  feet, 
and  the  ball  succeeds  until  the  antiquated  dust  of  all  the 
Romanoffs  is  stirred.  'Twas  ever  thus  in  the  ancient  days, 
I'm  told  ;  for  even  then,  no  crucial  distinctions  could  be 
made  if  the  necessary  components  of  a  ball  would  be  forth- 
coming. But  alas!  not  a  vestige  of  the  old  glory  remains 
to  illuminate  the  dark  bare  walls.  Desolation  reigns  through- 
out the  empty  halls,  and  the  wind  whistles  mournfully 
through  dozens  of  broken  panes.  Not  a  tenant  holds  the 
venerable  places  in  the  castle  except  the  U.  S.  signal  man 
aloft  who  keeps  his  lonely  vigils  in  the  cupola  on  the  roof. 
Up  there,  in  the  government  sky  parlor,  the  faithful 
chronicler  of  the  storms  clings  to  his  weather-beaten  post. 
Nothing  moves  him.      Politics  may  change,  civil   service 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  i»i 

reform  may  fail,  silver  coinage  be  repealed,  or  the  rookery 
itself  collapse  and  fall!  Whatever  may  betide,  blow  hot,  blow 
cold,  whichever  way  the  vane  may  turn,  the  four  little  cups 
on  the  top  of  his  tripod  go  round  and  round  in  the  unremit- 
ting whirligig  of  time. 

In  Sitka  and  northward,  revelers,  owls,  and  such,  find 
small  indulgence  for  orgies  claimed  for  hours  of  darkness, 
for  the  sun  is  bright  at  3  o'clock  A.M.,  and  he  goes  home 
early  who  goes  "  when  daylight  doth  appear."  In  the  longest 
days  there  is  no  interval  of  night  so  dark  that  all  the  stars 
are  seen.  Only  the  brightest  of  the  planets  outvie  the 
twilight.  So,  long  before  the  "  wee  sma'  hours  do  come  " 
the  candles  have  burned  down  in  their  sockets,  and  the 
dancers  in  the  castle  repair  to  the  parade  for  an  Indian 
performance  on  the  grass  ;  or  sometimes  there  is  a  wedding 
in  the  church.  Once  in  a  while  the  fire  company  turns  out 
for  review,  48  men  strong,  with  hose-cart,  fire  engine,  and 
tin  buckets  improvised  from  oil  cans. 

I  doubt  if  there  is  a  more  enchanting  site  in  the  world 
than  Sitka's.  It  has  been  compared  with  Naples ;  but 
Naples,  though  serenely  sweet,  is  not  so  massive,  nor  near  so 
grand.  In  the  varied  combination  of  its  picturesque  envi- 
ronment Sitka  is  both  placid  and  stupendous,  benignant  and 
majestic,  alluring  and  severe.  It  entices  while  it  warns.  It 
gathers  its  beautiful  brood  of  verdant  islets  into  its  arms 
and  folds  them  tenderly  to  its  bosom,  while  momentarily  it 
frowns  in  awful  majesty  from  the  beetling  heights  above. 
Behind  is  a  battlement  of  snow-clad  mountains.  Volcanic 
peaks  flank  the  range  at  either  end — Edgecumbe  and  Vos- 
tovia — lifted  high  against  the  firmament  of  blue,  and  welted 
with  great  red  ridges  of  hardened  lava  which  radiate  from 
their  pure  white  tops — the  contrast  of  colors  showing  aloft 
with  striking  effect.  Edgecumbe,  the  nearest  peak,  some 
fifteen  miles  away,  but  seeming  close  at  hand,  is  nearly 
3,500  feet  above  the  sea  level,  but  looks  as  if  it  were  part 
of  a  5,000-feet  peak  which  had  been  sliced  off.  This  trun- 
cated apex  is  a  crater,  said  by  those  who  have  visited  it  to 
be  2,000  feet  in  diameter  by  200  feet  deep. 

The  town  of  Sitka,  most  picturesque  herself,  though  dingy, 
occupies  the  incurve  of  the  crescent-shaped  level,  cuddling 
like  a  trustful  child  between  the  knees  of  the  great  giants, 
with  her  attendant  satellites  ranged  in  view  among  the 
glancing  waves,  some  cultivated  as  gardens  or  used  as 
pastures,  and  others  natural  gems  of  rock  with  verdure 
clad.  And  all  her  lap  is  filled  with  wealth  of  evergreens, 
back  to  the  very  bases  of  the  mountains  ;  sparkling  streams 


1 82  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

course  through  them  ;  and  giant  firs  whose  feet  rest  in  the 
shadows  of  the  valleys,  lift  their  tremendous  spires  high 
into  the  sunlight  of  the  upper  air.  The  atmosphere  is  soft, 
like  Italy's,  suffused  with  pink  and  yellow  laid  on  blue,  and 
whenever  the  tall  truncated  cones  catch  the  hues  of  sunset, 
the  lava  of  their  ice-crowned  tops  glows  red  hot !  Right 
in  the  harbor  of  Sitka  is  Japonskoi  (Japanese)  Island, 
where  government  pastures  cattle.  Eighty  years  ago  a 
Japanese  junk,  drifting  on  the  Kuro-Siwo  from  its  native 
moorings,  crossed  the  sea  and  rested  there — a  waif  from 
Asia,  to  suggest  to  intellects  obtuse  the  explanation  of 
ethnical  possibilities  not  at  all  mysterious  or  unaccountable. 
It  is  stated  that  the  sympathetic  Russians  kindly  cared  for 
the  castaway  survivors  of  that  dreadful  drift  and  returned 
them  to  their  country,  as  witnesses  of  a  long-vexed  problem 
solved.  Some  ten  miles  from  town  is  Silver  Bay,  with  a 
trout  stream  and  a  superb  waterfall,  which  is  often  visited 
by  excursionists  who  go  in  boats  towed  by  a  steam  launch 
which  tail  out  behind  in  a  most  exhilarating  way.  Indeed 
a  steam  launch  of  light  draft,  is  indispensable  to  pleasure  or 
business  in  those  parts.  Six  miles  north  is  Old  Harbor, 
where  the  Russian  Baronoff  built  the  first  fort  in  1799,  call- 
ing it  Archangel.  Three  years  later  its  garrison  was  massa- 
cred by  Sitka  Indians,  and  the  present  site  of  Sitka  was 
occupied  instead,  and  named  New  Archangel.  The  Hot 
Springs  are  ten  or  eleven  miles  south  of  town,  on  the  main 
land,  in  a  little  bay  which  is  protected  by  a  break-water  of 
pretty  islands.  There  are  three  mineral  springs — two  of 
warm  magnesia,  and  one  of  hot  sulphur,  the  density  of 
which  is  indicated  by  heavy  incrustations  in  their  basins. 
The  temperature  ranges  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  degrees.  Almost  every  visitor 
claims  to  have  boiled  an  egg  in  them,  but  I  have  yet  to 
learn  where  each  contrives  to  get  his  egg.  It  might  be  well 
for  future  tourists  who  like  positive  tests  to  provide  them- 
selves with  eggs  in  Boston,  New  York,  San  Francisco  or 
New  Orleans,  so  as  not  to  be  disappointed  when  they  finally 
reach  the  place.  A  few  rods  off  is  a  clear  spring  of  cold 
water,  in  which  there  may  be  trout  convenient  for  the  other 
popular  test.  For  myself,  when  I  visit  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  or  other  noted  place,  I  always  catch  my  fish  ready 
boiled.  In  i860  the  Russians  built  a  hospital  and  bath,  and 
the  treatment  was  said  to  have  had  wonderful  remedial 
powers  in  skin  and  rheumatic  diseases.  The  buildings  are 
now  badly  dilapidated  and  ought  to  be  restored  at  once.  If 
done,  Sitka  would  soon  become  more  than  ever  a  popular 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  183 

watering  place,  and  an  equivalent  equal  to  the  outlay  would 
flow  into  the  official  treasury  daily.  In  summer,  excursion 
trips  should  be  arranged  to  the  springs  at  stated  periods,  so 
that  visitors  can  depend  upon  them.  Some  four  miles  from 
Sitka  is  an  old  Russian  redoubt,  where  there  was  also  a 
prison,  which  is  well  worth  a  visit,  not  only  as  a  relic  of  the 
former  occupation,  but  for  its  beautiful  scenery,  the  moun- 
tains rising  3,000  feet  almost  perpendicularly,  on  one  side 
of  the  bay,  and  inclosing  a  lake  (Ozersky)  ten  miles  long, 
which  is  much  resorted  to  by  anglers.  There  are  five  Rus- 
sian houses  still  standing  which  are  used  for  a  salmon  can- 
nery, and  there  are  besides  several  other  houses  for  the 
fishermen,  and  huts  for  the  Siwashes.  Substantial  bridges, 
also  built  by  the  Russians,  cross  the  rapids  between  the 
outlet  of  the  lake  and  the  bay,  and  form  part  of  a  long  and 
winding  promenade.  Indeed  one  may  say  that  all  the 
vicinity  of  Sitka  is  suggestive  of  Russian  America,  which 
we,  before  its  purchase,  looked  upon  askance,  as  hyper- 
borean and  savage  ;  but  now  are  surprised  to  discover  was 
so  far  advanced  that  the  humble  people  of  Cape  Cod,  or 
other  shore  settlements  of  the  Atlantic,  would  have  been 
appalled  at  its  magnificence.  Every  thing  built  by  the 
Russians  was  of  a  substantial  character,  and  where  the  offi- 
cial comfort  was  concerned,  with  elegance. 

The  old  Baronoffs  lived  high.  They  enriched  themselves 
from  the  furs  of  the  land,  and  subsisted  on  the  appropria- 
tions of  the  crown.  All  they  earned  was  clear  profit,  and 
whenever  perchance  a  prince  of  the  blood  came  over  the 
Strait  from  Siberia,  he  was  royally  entertained  ;  moreover, 
their  spiritual  welfare  was  zealously  cared  for  by  the 
church,  which  is  able  even  now,  so  many  years  after  the 
retirement  of  the  Muscovites  to  maintain  gratuitously  its 
several  missions  at  Sitka,  St.  Paul,  St.  Michael's,  Anvic, 
Oonalashka,  and  Andreavsky.  And  so  it  happens  that 
Greek  priests  still  officiate  for  penitents  of  the  great 
Republic,  and  the  three  little  brass  bells  that  were  cast  in 
Russia  ring  out  from  the  tower  of  the  Sitka  sanctuary  a 
Slavic  melody  for  all  Americans  who  respect  the  Sabbath. 
It  is  fortunate,  indeed,  that  the  little  capital  of  Alaska  was 
not  left  wholly  bereft  of  Christian  influences,  else  would  its 
mongrel  population  have  gone  wholly  to  the  bad  ;  for  so 
long  as  the  suggestive  spire  stood  in  their  midst,  pointing 
heavenward,  duty  received  a  reminder  and  wickedness  a 
check.  At  present  there  is  a  form  of  Protestant  worship  at 
the  Indian  mission,  and  ere  many  months  elapse  I  trust  a 
befitting   chapel    will  be  erected  to    meet    the    religious 


1 84  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

demands  of  a  growing  population.  The  public  have  long 
been  made  familiar  with  the  architecture  of  the  Greekchurch, 
its  lofty  dome,  its  shapely  minaret,  its  gilt  and  gold  and 
silver  ornaments,  and  costly  vestments,  and  holy  pictures  ; 
and  since  it  is  now  so  well  preserved  in  photograph  and 
tourist's  story,  I  can  manifest  no  sincerer  interest  for  the 
saintly  relic  than  to  bespeak  for  it  the  trifling  sum  necessary 
for  its  structural  repair  and  preservation,  or  at  least  to 
replace  the  old  barrel  which  is  now  used  as  a  baptismal  tub. 
It  is  a  sin  and  a  shame  to  let  it  drop  piecemeal  into  ruin. 
The  green  paint  is  nearly  worn  from  off  the  metal  dome, 
and  its  wooden  sides  are  weather-worn  and  stained  ;  the 
doors  are  sprung,  the  bolts  are  rusted  ;  the  interior  is  well 
nigh  despoiled  by  time  and  vandal  hands ;  the  voice  of  one 
of  the  bells  is  hushed,  and  in  winter  the  main  auditorium 
can  not  be  used  with  comfort ;  yet  I  see  that  the  gilding  of 
the  spire  and  roof  continues  bright,  and  by  that  token  a 
new  day  is  at  hand. 

The  Russian  population  of  Sitka  pure  and  mixed,  is  about 
250,  and  the  church  attendance  is  made  up  chiefly  of 
Indians  and  Creoles,  although  Father  Metropolsky  is  a  well- 
instructed  priest,  pious  and  intelligent,  and  so  might  court 
the  attendance  of  the  better  classes  in  the  absence  of  teachers 
of  other  sects,  especially  and  inasmuch  as  the  services  are 
conducted  in  the  Slavonic  language,  which  is  both  impres- 
sive and  innocuous.  The  Indian  communicants  are  always 
devout  and  neatly  dressed,  observing  all  the  periods  and 
crossing  themselves  at  proper  times  with  due  observance  of 
the  formula  ;  and  as  the  services  are  conducted  with  form- 
ality and  proper  ceremony  no  essential  rites  can  be  over- 
looked. I  agree  with  a  most  intelligent  correspondent  who 
has  written  :  "  There  is  a  very  silly  and  unnecessary  antipa- 
thy existing  between  the  missionaries  here  and  this  church, 
and  instead  of  working  harmoniously  together  in  their  efforts 
to  Christianize  the  Indians,  they  work  at  cross  purposes.  If 
the  Greek  Church  or  any  other  can  succeed  in  making  the 
Indians  clean  themselves  up  one  day  in  the  week  at  least, 
well  and  good  ;  it  is  a  great  step  toward  godliness,  and  it  is 
the  purest  nonsense  to  try  to  Christianize  anybody  before  he 
is  civilized  to  a  certain  extent."  Ever  since  the  American 
accession,  the  missionaries  have  antagonized  the  Greek 
Church,  and  the  public  officials  fight  the  missionaries  ;  and 
I  could  only  wish  that  the  long-suffering  Siwash  might  look 
quietly  on  and  pick  up  what  drops  in  the  melee  to  his  own 
advantage. 

It  has  taken  a  good  while  for  the  country  to  adapt  itself 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  185 

to  the  changed  circumstances  which  followed  its  relinquish- 
ment by  the  Russians.  The  Muscovites  left  every  thing  in 
good  order  when  they  evacuated  Sitka,  indeed  they  wisely 
let  go  by  degrees,  and  not  all  at  once  ;  and  they  still  retain 
some  hold  on  the  missions  which  they  established.  Had 
they  not  done  so  many  years  of  utter  neglect  would  have 
left  the  place  a  useless  ruin.  That  there  is  a  house  still 
standing  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  they  built  of  great 
logs,  both  hewed  and  round,  and  often  two  feet  square  ; 
the  substantial  structures  which  they  have  erected  have  not 
only  withstood  the  high  winds  of  winter,  but  the  wearing 
tooth  of  time,  very  well  for  a  climate  whose  rainfall  is 
55^  inches  per  year,  soaking  every  thing  with  moisture. 
The  principal  buildings  which  are  now  occupied  by  the  ter- 
ritorial and  naval  officers  as  custom-house,  court-house, 
barracks,  and  government  warehouse  have  at  some  time 
been  coated  with  a  dull  yellow  paint  which  still  sticks  to  a 
degree  ;  some  of  the  roofs  are  either  of  iron  painted  red,  or 
they  have  grown  rusty  from  rain.  Once  they  were  preten- 
tious structures  all,  large,  spacious,  two-storied,  with  hard 
wood  doors  elaborately  carved,  and  some  regard  paid  to 
ornament  in  the  shape  of  stained-glass  panes  inserted  in 
parts  to  be  effective  ;  but  now  the  foundation  timbers  are 
eaten  half  through  by  rot,  some  of  the  6-inch  planking  of 
the  floors  has  been  torn  up  for  fuel  ;  piles  of  rubbish  fill 
one-half  of  the  apartments  and  with  the  exception  of  the 
marine  barracks  there  is  not  one  of  all  the  lot  with  its  win- 
dow-glass unbroken  or  the  plastering  intact.  A  fire  once 
cleared  out  several  of  the  rooms  in  the  custom-house,  and 
there  the  charred  debris  still  remains  ;  only  three  rooms  in 
the  entire  great  building  are  fit  to  be  occupied  and  two  of 
these  are  used  by  the  judge  and  attorney.  I  believe  the 
governor  has  to  "  rustle  "  for  his  quarters.  The  grand  old 
castle  which  crowns  a  rocky  eminence  that  overlooks  the 
town,  and  was  once  the  pride  of  all  the  Baronoffs  and 
Romanoffs,  is  now  the  worst  of  all  the  Badly-offs  ;  and 
although  it  looks  imposing  in  the  uncertain  twilight,  noth- 
ing but  immediate  relief  will  save  it  from  the  assaults  of 
time  and  weather.  Once  it  was  destroyed  by  earthquake, 
once  by  fire,  and  now  the  grand  staircase  up  the  rocky 
heights  will  scarcely  stand  another  year,  and  after  they 
collapse  only  scaling  ladders  can  be  used.  A  half-dozen 
unhappy  barrels  collect  the  rainfall  from  the  roof  ;  the 
whole  structure  is  sprung  in  every  joint  and  tenon,  and  ere 
many  moons  have  passed  it  will  not  be  safe  for  the  legend- 
ary "  ghost  of  the  hapless  princess  "  which  wanders  there- 


1 86  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

abouts,  to  ascend  to  light  her  periodical  beacon  on  the  roof, 
without  the  help  of  the  signal  officer  who  has  his  crow's- 
nest  there.  The  marines  who  guard  the  warehouse  and 
magazine,  keep  an  eye  to  the  tottering  walls  when  they  make 
their  turns,  and  pedestrians  who  pass  under  the  projecting 
roof  of  the  old  trading-house,  whence  bullets  were  liable 
to  rain  upon  the  intruders,  look  aloft  with  more  appre- 
hensions of  dry  rot  than  hot  shot.  The  block-houses 
which  remain  can  scarcely  stand,  and  but  one  side  of  the  old 
stockade  guards  the  plaza,  shutting  off  the  Indian  "  ranch." 
So  it  is  throughout  the  town.  With  its  population  reduced 
two-thirds  and  its  business  nine-tenths,  with  half  the  shops 
and  dwellings  tenantless,  there  is  not  abuilding  of  any  kind 
I  venture  to  say,  without  a  window  broken.  There  are 
not  more  than  two  or  three  which  indicate  fresh  paint  on 
their  fronts,  and  not  a  new  structure  of  any  kind  except  in 
the  purlieus  of  the  Indian  "  ranch,"  where  the  sight  of  a 
fresh  slab  is  richness  to  the  eyes.  On  every  side  the  grue- 
some ravens  croak,  truly  the  "  embodiment  of  spirits  long 
departed."  Noting  the  abundant  traces  of  a  previous  occu- 
pancy, with  the  dead  past  buried  all  around  them,  antiqua- 
rians already  begin  to  speculate  how  many  hundred  years 
ago  these  bastion  towers  were  built,  so  dilapidated  and  gray 
they  look  ;  industriously  they  decipher  the  inscriptions  on 
the  ancient  coins  ;  and  simple  minded  Yankees,  when  they 
see  their  flag  floating  in  the  air,  wonder  if  this  is  really  their 
own  "  God's  country,"  or  where  they  are.  Nevertheless  and 
withal,  the  town  has  still  a  habitable  and  homelike  look. 
There  are  gardens  filled  with  vegetables  and  flowers,  gera- 
niums in  window  pots,  cows  quietly  grazing  along  the 
streets.  Occasionally  the  thrum  of  a  piano  is  heard,  which 
is  blessed  music  in  the  wilderness,  though  intolerable  in 
town.  Some  of  the  Russian  houses  preserve  their  national 
characteristics,  so  that  we  have  only  to  enter  them  to  learn 
how  the  people  live  in  Russia.  As  ladies  have  a  better  fac- 
ulty of  observation  and  tact  to  describe  domestic  econo- 
mies, I  will  save  myself  the  trouble  of  doing  so  by  copying 
from  my  lady  correspondent  "  Mintwood,"  who  is  accurate 
and  vivacious.     She  says  : 

"  As  I  am  writing  in  one  of  them  at  this  moment,  I  will 
describe  it,  as  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  best  Sitkan 
houses  of  Russian  origin.  It  fronts  directly  on  the  bay 
with  a  charming  outlook,  and  between  the  house  and  the 
bay  is  a  large  garden,  in  which  a  Russian  neighbor  has  a 
fine  colony  of  cabbages  and  some  potato  tops.  The  path 
from  the  gate  leads  up  a  gentle  eminence  between  two  rows 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  187 

of  gooseberry  bushes,  which  are  loaded  with  fruit,  and  sup- 
plemented in  the  rear  with  currant  bushes,  also  in  bearing 
with  green  clusters.  There  is  a  row  of  pie-plant,  in  bar- 
rels, and  a  hot  bed,  the  sash  of  which  is  a  fish  net.  There 
are  lines  in  the  garden  on  which  are  strung  pieces  of  shin- 
ing tin  to  frighten  the  ravens  and  crows.  There  are  elder 
bushes  and  two  fruit  trees  ;  one,  a  crab-apple,  was  quite  full 
of  blossoms.  A  clump  of  wild  roses  bloom  beautifully 
under  one  window,  and  under  another  is  a  fragrant  bed  of 
spearmint.  In  the  back  yard  are  four  outbuildings,  all  of 
them  having  evidently  at  one  time  been  dwelling  houses  ; 
two  are  of  logs.  The  house  itself,  of  one  story  and  a  loft, 
has  a  vestibule,  opening  into  a  hall,  at  the  right  of  which  is 
the  large  parlor,  and  at  the  left  the  large  kitchen.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  rooms  there  are  two  good-sized  bedrooms. 
The  parlor  has  five  windows,  each  window  consisting  of  six 
panes,  each  pane  a  foot  square,  in  two  rows.  The  lower 
part  of  the  window,  of  four  panes,  opens  like  a  French  win- 
dow. The  window  sills  are  deep,  and  at  one  window  there 
is  a  green  roller  curtain.  The  parlor  furniture  consists  of 
an  old  mahogany  Russian  sofa,  with  a  high  back  entirely  in 
veneer  ;  the  hair-covered  cushioned  seat  is  dilapidated,  and 
is  temporarily  upholstered  with  a  rubber  blanket.  There 
are  three  chairs  in  various  stages  of  infirmity,  and  a  number 
of  four-legged  stools  of  ingenious  construction.  There  is  a 
mahogany  table,  and  a  ditto  bureau,  a  modern  and  proba- 
bly native  made  piece  of  furniture,  of  yellow  cedar,  quite 
pretty,  and  consisting  of  closets  and  drawers.  The  skin  of 
a  mountain  goat  covers  a  considerable  space  on  the  bare 
floor,  and  a  large  box  stove,  for  wood,  that  was  manufac- 
tured in  Philadelphia,  has  had  a  fire  burning  in  it  nearly 
every  day.  The  papered  walls  have  their  attractions — an 
old  Russian  print  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  a  local  painting 
of  Sitka.  The  bedrooms  have  bedsteads — rickety — and 
bureaus,  and  two  pieces  of  broken  looking-glass.  The 
kitchen  is  comfortably  furnished  ;  an  abundance  of  tables 
and  shelves,  some  dishes  and  glassware,  an  old  brass 
samovar,  a  heavy  copper  boiler,  skillets,  other  culinary  uten- 
sils, a  worn-out  cooking  stove  that  still  serves  the  user  of  it 
well,  nevertheless,  and  a  pair  of  wooden  buckets." 

From  the  center  of  the  town  a  macadamized  road  extends 
along  the  curve  of  the  beach,  amply  wide  for  vehicles  to 
pass  abreast,  lined  by  cosy  dwellings  on  the  landward  side, 
and  commanding  a  fine  view  of  the  bay  and  islands  and  the 
overhanging  mountains.  Perhaps  some  day  the  fashion- 
ables of  Sitka  will  use  it  for  a  carriage  drive,  but  as  yet  few 


1 88  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

vehicles  have  ever  run  over  it.  Quien  sabe?  who  shall 
tell  ?  This  road  leads  past  the  Indian  mission,  and  to  In- 
dian River,  just  beyond,  which  is  a  favorite  resort  for  visi- 
tors and  towns-people  as  well.  Since  the  occupancy  of  the 
town  by  the  government  marines,  they  have  devoted  lots  of 
labor  to  building  bridges,  rustic  seats  and  walks  along  this 
sparkling  stream,  which  is  broken  into  falls  and  picturesque 
reaches  where  trout  disport ;  and  he  who  directed  the  work 
has  done  it  admirably  well,  for  every  natural  beauty  has 
been  left  untouched,  and  as  my  friend  already  quoted  de- 
clares, "  it  is  just  like  walking  through  a  magnificently 
wooded  park  which  has  gone  wild  for  centuries,  with  only 
the  walks  left  civilized."  Some  of  the  firs  and  hemlocks 
are  simply  immense,  and  the  undergrowth  is  frightful  to 
penetrate.  In  the  midst  of  the  forest  I  found  a  small  potato 
patch  which  had  been  fenced,  but  it  was  hard  in  August  to 
find  either  potatoes  or  fence.  Some  of  the  Indian  boys  dis- 
like to  come  to  the  river  to  fish  for  fear  of  bears,  but  no 
bears  ever  yet  seemed  to  take  a  liking  to  any  of  them.  This 
river  furnishes  the  only  good  drinking  water  to  be  had,  and 
the  good  people  of  the  town  walk  out  along  these  beautiful 
paths  with  tin  pails  and  demijohns  to  bring  in  drinking 
water.  The  barracks  details  fetch  it  in  a  canoe,  and  that 
this  inconvenience  exists  in  Sitka  is  but  one  illustration  of 
the  decay  and  amazing  enervation  of  the  town.  If  it  did 
not  rain  here  so  much,  and  barrels  and  casks  under  eaves 
were  not  kept  well  filled  most  of  the  time,  the  water  ques- 
tion would  be  a  more  difficult  one  than  it  is. 

Hitherto  the  management  of  local  or  territorial  affairs 
has  not  been  happy.  None  of  the  appropriations  made  for 
the  support  of  the  civil  government  or  for  specific  purposes 
appear  to  have  been  accounted  for.  Until  two  years  ago 
the  government  itself  was  not  a  success.  Its  seat  was  never 
warm.  There  was  no  ownership  in  any  thing.  It  did  not 
even  know  what  belonged  to  it.  A  merchant  claimed  the 
public  warehouse  as  his  private  property  ;  another  citizen 
claimed  the  dock,  and  the  navy  had  actually  to  build  a 
wharf  for  its  own  necessities.  (N.  B.  When  there  is  any 
litigation  in  Alaska  about  wharves,  the  teredo  steps  in  and 
eats  them  up  before  a  decision  can  be  reached.)  The  last 
administration  was  unfortunate.  The  governor  broke  his 
arm  and  had  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  the  district  attorney 
was  killed  in  California  by  falling  from  a  railroad  train. 
When  their  successors  took  office,  the  district  judge  was 
found  not  to  be  a  success,  and  attempts  were  made  to 
prevent  the  confirmation  of  the  new  governor.     Now,  how- 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  189 

ever,  an  auspicious  era  seems  to  have  dawned.  Immigra- 
tion is  pouring  in  apace.  The  newspaper  recently  started 
at  Sitka  is  a  wide-awake  journal,  devoted  heartily  to  the 
development  of  the  country,  and  from  it  the  public  can 
obtain  information  which  can  be  relied  upon.  Governor 
Swineford  means  "  straight  business."  Much  depends 
upon  his  sagacity  and  discretion.  He  is  laboring  to  secure 
a  remedy  for  defects  in  the  law  governing  territorial  organ- 
ization. There  being  no  connection  now  between  the 
different  towns,  in  sending  a  prisoner  from  one  point  to 
another  for  trial,  he  is  as  liable  to  go  via  San  Francisco  as 
otherwise,  taking  three  months  for  the  transit,  so  that  it  is 
less  expensive  not  to  take  than  to  make  prisoners.  What 
the  government  needs  is  a  revenue  cutter  and  one  or  two 
steam  launches  to  serve  as  harbor  police-boats  and  deputy 
sheriffs  in  these  strange  water-ways.  Their  moral  effect 
alone  would  make  all  the  difference  in  the  world.  It  would 
insure  good  order  and  stability. 

For  whatever  lies  beyond  Sitka,  between  it  and  Mt.  St. 
Elias,  200  miles  further  west,  I  can  net  speak  from  my  per- 
sonal experience.  Recently  excursion  trips  have  been 
extended  to  include  those  additional  waters,  within  whose 
limits  are  the  greatest  number  of  high  and  imposing  peaks 
to  be  found  in  any  range  in  the  world.  In  a  pamphlet  of 
joo  pages,  beautifully  printed  and  illustrated  by  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railway  Company,  to  influence  summer  travel 
to  Alaska,  I  find  the  following  synopsis  from  the  pen  of 
Lieutenant  Schwatka  : 

"  Almost  as  soon  as  Cape  Spencer  is  doubled,  the  south- 
ern spurs  of  the  Mount  St.  Elias  Alps  burst  into  view, 
Crillon  and  Fairweather  being  prominent,  and  the  latter 
easily  recognized  from  our  acquaintance  with  it  from  the 
waters  of  Glacier  Bay.  A  trip  of  an  hour  or  two  takes  us 
along  a  comparatively  uninteresting  coast,  as  viewed  from 
the  '  square  off  our  starboard  beam  ; '  but  all  this  time 
the  mind  is  fixed  by  the  grand  Alpine  views  we  have  ahead 
of  us,  that  are  slowly  developing  in  plainer  outline  here 
and  there  as  we  speed  toward  them.  Soon  we  are  abreast 
of  Icy  Point  ;  while  just  beyond  it  comes  down  a  glacier 
to  the  ocean  that  gives  about  three  miles  of  solid  sea-wall 
of  ice,  while  its  source  is  lost  in  the  heights  covering  the 
bases  of  the  snowy  peaks  just  behind.  The  high  peak  to 
the  right,  as  we  steam  by  the  glacier  front,  is  Mount  La 
Perouse,  named  for  one  of  the  most  daring  of  France's 
long  list  of  explorers,  and  who  lost  his  life  in  the  interest 
of  geographical  science.     His  eyes  rested    on   this  range 


19°  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

of  Alpine  peaks  in  1786,  just  a  century  ago.  Its  sides  are 
furrowed  with  glaciers,  one  of  which  is  the  ice-wall  before 
our  eyes,  and  which  is  generally  known  as  the  La  Perouse 
Glacier.  The  highest  peak  of  all,  and  on  the  left  of  this 
noble  range,  is  Mount  Crillon,  named  by  La  Perouse,  in 
1786,  after  the  French  Minister  of  the  Marine  ;  while 
between  Crillon  and  La  Perouse  is  Mount  D'Agelet,  the 
astronomer  of  that  celebrated  expedition.  Crillon  cleaves 
the  air  for  16,000  feet  above  the  sea,  on  which  we  rest,  and 
can  be  seen  for  over  a  hundred  miles  to  sea.  It,  too,  is 
surrounded  with  glaciers  in  all  directions  from  its  crown. 
Crillon  and  La  Perouse  are  about  seven  miles  apart,  nearly 
north  and  south  of  each  other.  About  fifteen  miles  north- 
west of  Crillon  is  Lituya  Peak,  10,000  feet  high  ;  and  the 
little  bay-opening  that  we  pass,  between  the  two,  is  the 
entrance  to  Lituya  Bay,  a  sheet  of  water  which  La  Perouse 
has  pronounced  as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  in  the 
world  for  grand  scenery,  with  its  glaciers  and  Alpine 
shores.  Our  steamer  will  not  enter,  however  ;  for  the  pas- 
sage is  dangerous  even  to  small  boats — one  island  bearing 
a  monument  to  the  officers  and  men  of  La  Perouse's  expe- 
dition, lost  in  the  tidal  wave  which  sweeps  through  the  con- 
tracted passage  like  a  breaker  over  a  treacherous  bar. 
Some  ten  or  twelve  miles  northwest  from  Lituya  Peak  is 
Mount  Fairweather,  which  bears  abreast  us  after  a  little 
over  an  hour's  run  from  Lituya  Bay.  It  was  named  by 
Cook  in  1778,  and  is  generally  considered  to  be  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  shorter  than  Mount  Crillon.  It  is  in  every  way, 
by  its  peculiar  isolation  from  near  ridges  almost  as  high  as 
itself,  a  much  grander  peak  than  Crillon,  whose  surround- 
ings are  not  so  good  for  a  fine  Alpine  display.  Fair- 
weather,  too,  has  its  frozen  river  flowing  down  its  sides  ; 
but  none  of  them  reach  the  sea,  for  a  low,  wooded  country, 
some  three  or  four  miles  in  width,  lies  like  a  glacis  at  the 
seaward  side  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps,  for  a  short  distance 
along  this  part  of  the  coast.  The  somber,  deep  green 
forests  add  an  impressive  feature  to  the  scene,  however, 
lying  between  the  dancing  waves  below  and  the  white  and 
blue  glacier  ice  above.  Rounding  Cape  Fairweather,  the 
coast  trends  northward  ;  and,  as  our  bowsprit  is  pointed  in 
the  same  direction,  directly  before  us  are  seen  immense 
glaciers  reaching  to  the  sea.  From  Cape  Fairweather 
(abreast  of  Mt.  Fairweather)  to  Yakutat  Bay  (abreast  of 
Mt.  Vancouver)  no  conspicuous  peak  rears  its  head  above 
the  grand  mountain  chain  which  for  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
lies  between  these  two  Alpine  bastions  ;  but,  nevertheless, 


■  -  -_~^'-;' 


SITKA   SOMNOLENT.  191 

every  hour  reveals  a  new  mountain  of  5,000  to  8,000  feet  in 
height,  which,  if  placed  anywhere  else,  would  be  held  up 
with  national  or  state  pride  as  a  grand  acquisition.  Here 
they  are  only  dwarfed  by  grander  peaks." 


THE  SEALS  OF  PRIBYLOV 


A  treatise  on  Alaska,  however  ephemeral  or  unpreten* 
tious,  would  hardly  be  complete  without  some  reference 
being  made  to  its  fur-seal  fishery,  upon  which  almost  the 
only  revenue  of  the  territory  was  based  up  to  the  year  1884. 
Professor  Henry  W.  Elliott's  official  report  to  the  govern- 
ment, made  in  1882,  comprising  the  result  of  many  years  in- 
vestigation, is  an  exhaustive  account  of  all  there  is  to  know 
about  the  subject ;  and  from  it  I  have  gathered  the  facts  ap- 
pended. This  is  an  illustrated  volume  of  nearly  200  quarto 
pages,  comprising  a  history  of  the  fur-seal  fishery  from 
earliest  dates  ;  the  discovery  of  the  Pribylov  group  in  1786 
by  the  hardy  Muscovite  whose  name  they  bear  collectively  ; 
the  configuration  and  natural  history  of  the  Islands  ;  their 
acquisition  by  the  United  States  ;  the  formation  and  opera- 
tions of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  ;  and  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  their  occupation  and  mode  of  life. 
The  breeding-places  and  habits  of  the  seals  and  all  their 
phocine  kindred,  the  walrus,  sea-lion,  sea-otter,  hair-seal, 
etc.,  and  the  methods  employed  to  secure  their  hides,  and 
to  prepare  and  ship  them  to  market,  and  to  dye  them  to 
suit  the  wearers,  are  all  given  in  the  most  considerate  man- 
ner, with  due  regard  to  the  sensibilities  of  the  animals  them- 
selves, which,  next  to  the  ladies  who  hope  to  wear  their 
pelts,  are  unquestionably  the  parties  chiefly  interested.  The 
details  are  intensely  interesting  to  the  reader,  and  to  the 
seals  excruciating,  we  may  believe. 

Located  fourteen  hundred  miles  west-north-west  from 
Sitka,  as  the  ship  sails,  and  nearly  two  hundred  miles  from 
Oonalashka,  the  nearest  land,  sea-girt  and  beset  with  out- 
lying reefs,  continually  befogged  in  summer,  and  in  winter 
swept  by  cruel  icy  blasts,  the  Pribylovs  are  hard  to  find.  It 
is  said  that  navigators  have  even  touched  their  cliffs  with 
their  vessels'  yard-arms  before  they  were  aware  of  their 
close  proximity.  And  it  is  because  of  this  isolation,  as  well 
as  because  they  afford  the  only  good  resting  place  in  Alaska, 
that  the  seals  frequent  them.  They  are  all  of  volcanic 
origin,  bearing  some  not  remote  traces  of  dynamic  action, 


THE  SEALS  OF  PRIB  YLOV.  193 

the  crater  of  Otter  island  being  "  as  distinctly  defined,  and 
as  plainly  scorched  as  though  it  had  burned  out  yesterday." 
St.  Paul  island  is  thirteen  miles  in  length  by  six  in  breadth, 
composed  of  rough,  rocky  uplands,  rugged  hills,  smooth 
volcanic  cones,  parti-colored  sand-dunes,  grassy  plats,  and 
wet  and  slippery  flats,  where  the  seals  most  congregate.  It  is 
interspersed  with  pools  and  lagoons  of  good  fresh  water,  in 
which  a  pretty  minute  viviparous  fish  is  found.  St.  George 
is  ten  miles  long  by  four  and  one-half  miles  wide,  steep  and 
precipitous  on  all  sides,  except  at  three  short  reaches  of 
coast  which  the  seals  have  appropriated  for  "  rookeries." 
Like  St.  Paul,  it  also  has  many  pools  of  water.  Its  highest 
land  rises  930  feet,  and  St.  Paul's  600  feet.  Nearly  half  the 
shore  of  St.  Paul  is  a  sandy  beach,  while  on  St.  George  there 
is  less  than  a  mile  of  it  all  put  together.  Millions  of  sea- 
fowl  breed  and  hover  perpetually  over  their  ledges  and  in- 
accessible terraces,  and  all  the  available  spaces  are  filled 
with  eggs  in  spring.  There  would  be  valuable  guano  de- 
posits except  that  they  are  annually  washed  clean  off  by  the 
beating  storms  of  winter,  during  which  period  the  birds  are 
discreetly  absent.  Each  island  has  its  village  of  resident 
overseers  and  employes,  its  killing-grounds,  salting  and 
packing  houses,  and  its  little  harbor  where  vessels  may  load 
and  discharge  in  favorable  weather  only.  As  for  the  rest, 
on  St.  George  there  is  a  water-fall  which  drops  400  feet  per- 
pendicularly into  the  sea  in  spring  ;  a  little  running  stream 
to  diversify  the  asperity  of  the  physical  contour  ;  and  on 
every  prominent  eminence  a  Greek  cross  erected  there  by 
Russians,  some  of  them  as  long  as  sixty  years  ago.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  grass — a  dozen  varieties  of  different 
lengths  and  quality,  and  a  multitude  of  pretty  flowers,  ferns 
and  mosses.  Snow  melts  at  a.  very  low  temperature,  and 
grass  begins  to  grow  at  34  degrees  or  36  degrees  even  if  it 
be  covered  by  melting  drifts  of  snow  and  the  frost  has 
hardened  the  ground  for  many  feet  beneath.  Some  success 
has  followed  attempts  at  gardening,  and  lettuce,  radishes, 
turnips,  and  even  small  potatoes,  have  been  grown  in 
favored  spots.  Countless  sparrows  come  in  early  spring 
and  are  gathered  up  for  food  by  the  thousands,  just  as  the 
Israelites  gathered  quails.  These  birds  agreeably  vary  the 
staple  diet  of  seal  meat,  of  which  the  little  communities, 
about  400  souls  all  told,  consume  some  1200  pounds  a  day. 
The  government  allows  them  to  catch  6,000  seals  a  year  for 
their  subsistence.  Excepting  two  or  three  mules  for  work, 
the  only  animals  on  the  islands  are  hosts  of  blue  foxes,  lem- 
mings which  honeycomb  the  softer  earth  with  their  burrows, 


194  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

mice,  and  stump-tail  cats,  which  run  wild  and  roam  every- 
where. On  favorable  nights  when  the  air  is  still  and  the 
moonlight  full,  these  incorrigible  cats  join  in  such  an  un- 
earthly caterwauling  that  the  natives  turn  out  en  masse  to  in- 
terdict them.  The  shrieks  of  the  tempest  can  not  compare 
with  the  ferocity  of  the  chorus.  But  for  all,  they  decimate 
the  mice.  There  are  no  reptiles  on  the  islands,  and  no 
mosquitoes  nor  venomous  flies  ;  but  there  is  a  variety  of  fly 
which  settles  down  upon  the  grass  of  the  killing-grounds 
making  the  surface  appear  as  if  it  were  bedaubed  with  liquid 
stove-polish,  for  the  color  they  impart.  Their  food  is  the 
blood  and  offal  of  the  slaughter.  The  perfume  of  the 
Pribylovs  is  intense,  and  one  may  perceive  the  odor  far  at 
sea  when  the  wind  is  fair.  On  a  hot  day  in  the  close  cabins 
of  the  village  it  would  be  overpowering  to  any  body  who  was 
not  used  to  it.  No  fish  can  be  caught  within  the  vicinity, 
as  the  seals  devour  all  that  approach. 

Six  miles  north  from  St.  Paul  Island  is  Otter  Island,  once 
frequented  by  herds  of  sea  otters,  a  sheer,  cold  and  un- 
broken mural  precipice,  except  at  a  low  depression  on  the 
north  side.  Its  walls  average  300  feet  in  height.  It  is 
fairly  over-run  with  blue  foxes.  Walrus  Island  lies  six  miles 
southwest,  once  the  abode  of  many  of  these  animals,  some 
of  which  will  weigh  a  ton.  It  is  a  mere  ledge  barely  lifted 
above  the  wash  of  angry  waves,  only  a  fourth  of  a  mile  long 
and  100  yards  wide.  It  literally  swarms  with  wild  fowl,  and 
is,  therefore,  very  convenient  for  eggers,  who,  in  other  local- 
ities, have  to  climb  up  precipices,  and  swing  from  jutting 
ledges  to  gather  their  plunder.  There  is  an  island  200 
miles  north  of  St.  Paul,  but  having  no  commercial  connection 
with  it,  called  St.  Matthew,  which  is  of  volcanic  origin,  and 
fairly  swarms  with  polar  bears,  which  sometimes  measure 
eight  feet  long  and  weigh  1,200  pounds.  They  are  very 
timid,  and  flee  precipitately,  old  and  young,  upon  the  ap- 
proach of  man.  There  are  deserted  Russian  cabins  on  the 
island,  which  were  built  and  once  occupied  by  bear-hunters, 
who  did  a  big  business  in  meat,  pelts  and  oil.  The  tradi- 
tional ferocity  of  these  animals  seems  to  have  wholly  petered 
out  in  this  sub-Arctic  ursine  community. 

The  Pribylov  Islands  were  first  peopled  by  a  native  colony 
brought  over  from  Oonalashka  and  other  Aleutian  neighbor- 
hoods by  the  Russian  fur-sealers  in  1786,  and  were  employed 
in  their  service  ;  but  they  lived  miserably  in  hovels  which 
were  half  dug-out.  Now,  under  the  American  regime,  and 
the  fostering  care  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  their 
progeny  are  happy  and  well  provided  for  in  all  those  respects 


THE  SEA  L  S  OF  PR  IB  YLOV.  1 95 

which  make  a  sealer's  life  worth  the  living1.  There  are  two 
hundred  and  forty- four  people  on  St.  Paul,of  which  twen- 
ty-two are  whites,  four  are  women ;  on  St.  George  ninety- 
two  people,  of  whom  eight  are  whites.  On  both  islands  each 
family  lives  in  a  snug  frame  dwelling,  painted,  and  lined 
with  tarred  paper,  furnished  with  a  stove  and  fuel,  and  out- 
houses complete.  Streets  are  laid  out,  and  regularly  platted  ; 
there  is  a  large  church  at  St.  Paul,  and  a  smaller  one  at  St. 
George  ;  a  hospital  at  St.  Paul,  with  a  complete  stock  ol 
drugs,  and  physicians  on  both  islands  to  take  care  of  the 
people  ;  a  school-house  on  each  island,  for  which  teachers 
are  paid  by  the  company  for  eight  months  in  the  year  to 
instruct  the  youth,  one  of  these  teachers  being  a  native 
Aleut  who  accomplished  a  four  years  course  of  study  in 
Rutland,  Vt. ;  and  a  store  on  each  island,  where  once  a  year 
the  trading  ship  brings  the  latest  fashions,  and  every  body 
enjoys  a  holiday  opening.  The  church  services  are  held  in 
the  Russian  language,  and  their  support  is  maintained 
entirely  bv  native  contribution.  There  are  eighty  families 
and  eighty  dwellings  on  St.  Paul,  and  twenty-four  at  St. 
George,  besides  eight  other  structures,  ecclesiastical  and 
commercial,  all  painted  and  built  by  skilled  mechanics,  so 
that  the  settlements  present  an  appearance  up  to  the  average 
of  Eastern  villages.  The  people  all  dress  in  modern  attire, 
and  eagerly  discuss  the  newest  fashion  plates,  but  as  yet 
silk  "  tiles "  are  unknown.  Except  during  the  sealing 
season,  they  have  absolutely  nothing  to  do  but  go  to  church 
and  vegetate.  Fully  two  hundred  and  ninety  days  of  the 
year  are  occupied  in  observing  the  religious  calendar. 
Many  sleep  away  their  time  ;  a  few  gamble  ;  some  play  the 
fiddle  and  accordeon.  The  population  is  very  orderly. 
There  are  no  policemen,  no  courts  of  justice,  no  fines,  no 
crimes,  and  no  instituted  penalties  for  crimes.  Quite 
frequently  the  islanders  make  a  journey  to  their  relatives 
on  the  mainland  ;  and  to  visit  Oonalashka  is  like  a  rustic 
"  doing  "  the  metropolis.  Oonalashka  is  no  insignificant 
burg,  be  it  known,  for  it  discounts  Sitka. 

These  islands  are  leased  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  the  North  American  Commercial  Company,  and 
since  1870  have  returned  to  the  treasury  the  lump  sum  of 
$8,561,791.07.  The  schools  are  supported  at  the  expense 
of  the  company,  with  98  per  cent,  of  the  children  in  at- 
tendance. The  seal  catch  is  at  present  much  less  than  it 
has  been  at  former  periods,  but  is  likely  to  be  restored  by 
protection.  Poachers  are  the  cause  of  decimation,  Japa- 
nese, Canadians,  and  Yankees. 


196  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

The  methods  of  the  company  are  very  complete,  and  it 
seems  almost  impossible  to  improve  upon  them.  Abuses 
and  breach  of  trust  are  almost  impossible  within  the  environ- 
ment of  restrictions  by  which  they  are  hedged  about,  and 
it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  catch  more  than  the  stipu- 
lated quota  of  seals  without  the  fact  becoming  known  at 
once.  Only  once  have  they  caught  the  full  complement 
(one  hundred  thousand)  allowed  by  law,  and  then  only 
inadvertently.  Their  rule  is  to  make  the  number  one 
thousand  scant  so  as  to  avoid  carping  criticisms.  The 
breeding  grounds  are  protected,  and  obstreperous  old  males 
diligently  kept  off  from  them,  but  they  are  allowed  to  come 
to  all  other  localities.  One  million  seal  pups  are  born  every 
year,  and  of  these  there  is  a  loss  of  fifty  per  cent,  by  whales, 
sharks,  and  predatory  creatures,  after  they  leave  for  their 
foraging  grounds.  While  breeding  they  strictly  fast.  When 
they  leave  they  go  in  independent  gangs,  and  not  all  at  once, 
and  they  range  as  far  south  as  the  forty-seventh  parallel. 
Seals  are  in  their  prime  at  from  four  to  five  years  of  age, 
and  only  those  which  are  desirable  are  selected  for  the 
annual  drive.  An  average  seal  will  measure  six  and  a  half 
feet  long  and  weigh  four  hundred  pounds,  but  they  are 
caught  up  to  six  hundred  pounds  and  seven  and  a  half  feet 
long.  It  is  estimated,  within  the  power  of  accurate  calcula- 
tion, that  there  are  over  three  millions  of  seals  on  each 
island  in  the  breeding  season,  not  counting  the  non-breeders, 
"  old  bachelors,"  etc.  The  entire  catch  of  one  hundred 
thousand  seals  is  now  made  in  about  thirty  working  days, 
included  between  the;  14th  day  of  June  and  the  1st  of 
August.  Seals  do  remain  longer  than  the  latter  date,  but 
their  fur  deteriorates  rapidly.  The  sealers  work  under  the 
direction  of  foremen,  who  receive  the  wages  due  for  their 
work,  according  to  the  tale,  and  divide  it  among  them, 
making  up  a  number  of  extra  shares  over  and  above  the 
men's,  which  go  to  the  widows,  the  priest  and  the  church. 
They  receive  forty  cents  per  seal,  and  fifty  cents  to  one 
dollar  per  day  for  incidental  labor.  It  is  estimated  that 
more  than  four  millions  of  sealskins  have  been  taken  from 
the  Pribylovs  since  1797.  When  the  killing  season  has 
arrived,  details  of  men  run  in  between  the  sleeping  seals 
and  the  surf-wash,  and  drive  them  slowly  to  designated 
slaughtering  grounds,  at  a  speed  of  half  a  mile  an  hour, 
halting  them  occasionally  to  rest  and  cool  off,  for  heating 
injures  their  fur  ;  and  it  is  a  comical  sight  to  see  the  long 
procession,  urged  on  by  shouts  and  clapping  of  whale  thigh- 
bones, and  gesticulating  arms  on  the  flanks  and  rear,  wad* 


THE  SEALS  OF  PRIB  YLOV.  197 

dling,  panting,  gasping  and  shuffling  along  like  so  many 
fat  men,  in  the  most  awkward  manner  conceivable.  Some- 
times an  old  bull-seal,  adipose  and  unwieldy,  who  can  not 
travel  with  the  younger  ones,  falls  to  the  earth  supinely, 
entirely  exhausted,  hot,  and  "  clean  done  up."  Another, 
too  weary  to  travel  any  more,  will  stand  up  in  his  tracks 
and  fight.  These  old  recalcitrants  are  at  once  dismissed, 
abandoned  and  ignored,  as  of  little  value,  their  under-wool 
which  gives  price  to  the  pelt,  being  much  shorter,  coarser, 
and  scantier  than  that  of  the  younger  seals.  When  a  halt 
is  called  and  the  men  drop  back  from  the  line  for  a  few 
moments,  the  march  at  once  ceases,  and  every  seal  fans 
himself  with  his  hind  flippers,  while  his  flanks  heave  with  a 
subdued  panting  sound.  It  is  a  grievous  sight  to  behold, 
but  I  have  seen  worse  at  a  soldiers'  parade  on  a  4th  of  July, 
when  the  sun  stood  at  a  hundred  in  the  shade,  and  there 
was  not  lemonade  enough  to  go  round.  When  the  seals 
have  partially  cooled  off,  the  march  to  death  is  resumed. 
Finally  the  slaughter-ground  is  reached  and  the  seals  are 
told  off  in  squads  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  at  a  given 
signal  the  executioners  let  go  with  clubs  and  lay  them  out 
right  and  left,  after  which  they  are  knifed  and  skinned  at 
the  rate  of  one  in  every  four  minutes,  although  experts  have 
done  the  job  in  a  minute  and  a  half.  The  clubs  are  six 
feet  long,  three  inches  in  diameter  at  the  but,  made  of  hard 
wood,  and  manufactured  in  New  London,  Ct.,  expressly 
for  this  service.  There  is  an  excellent  opportunity  here  to 
indulge  in  sentimentalism,  but  I  forbear  to  speak  of  the 
languid  eyes  that  plead  before  the  uplifted  club,  and  the 
heart-rending  moans  which  come  from  those  not  dead.  My 
real  opinion  is  that  there  is  little  occasion  to  complain  of 
needless  cruelty. 

After  the  skins  are  flayed  off,  they  are  salted  and  piled  in 
kenches  as  high  as  a  man  can  toss  them,  "  hair  to  fat  and 
salt  between,"  and  having  been  allowed  two  weeks  in  which 
to  pickle,  are  tied  up  in  bundles  of  two  skins  each,  hair  out- 
side, and  shipped  to  London  via  New  York  or  Panama,  to 
be  dyed  ;  for  few  natural  skins  are  less  attractive  than  the 
fur  seals,  the  fur  not  being  visible,  but  concealed  by  a 
coat  of  stiff  hair,  dull  gray,  brown  and  grizzled.  The  art 
of  dying  in  its  perfection  is  said  to  be  possessed  by  only 
one  concern  in  London,  although  there  are  many  other 
dyers  ;  and  there  is  at  Albany,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a 
firm  which  does  splendid  work,  but  their  dye  color,  is  said 
to  be  lighter  and  not  so  rich  as  the  Englishman's.  The 
cost  of  a  fur  comes  from  a  combination  of   causes  and 


198  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

expenses  which,  it  is  affirmed,  will  keep  the  price  up  always 
to  near  its  present  figure.  The  Alaska  Company  has 
stations  all  over  the  Aleutian  Islands  west  and  north  of 
Kodiak,  and  employs  four  steamers,  and  a  dozen  ships,  barks 
and  sloops,  besides  working  boats.  Its  lease  expires  in  1890, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  renewed. 

Fur  seals  and  sea  otters  are  sometimes  caught  in  large 
numbers  off  the  Straits  of  Fuca  and  the  west  coast  of  Van- 
couver's Island,  and  in  limited  numbers  by  the  Indians  on 
the  Alaskan  coast.  Last  winter  the  fur  seals  seemed  to 
be  frequenting  the  waters  of  southeastern  Alaska  in 
increased  numbers.  Old  residents  along  the  shores  say 
that  the  last  large  run  was  twenty  years  ago,  and  was  fol- 
lowed immediately  after  by  a  run  of  sea  otter,  and  they  are 
hoping  for  a  like  result  now.  The  Sitka  paper  says  that  a 
good  many  fur  seal  skins,  both  of  pups  and  grown  seals, 
have  lately  reached  the  Sitka  market.  In  1883  there  were 
ten  schooners  engaged  in  British  waters,  employing  forty 
sailors  and  296  hunters,  the  latter  chiefly  Indians,  who  used 
148  cedar  canoes,  and  they  took  upward  of  9,000  fur  seals 
and  3,000  hair  seals,  valued  at  $93,000.  The  former  are 
worth  $10,  and  the  latter  fifty  cents.  Only  ninety-six  sea- 
otters  were  caught,  marketable  at  $50  each. 

This  brief  synopsis  will  suffice  to  convey  an  idea  of  an 
interesting  industry  and  locality  of  which  very  little  is 
known  at  large. 


- 

X 

O 
X 
H 

> 
H 

o 


SEASONAL   PHASES. 


As  soon  as  the  snow  disappears  in  May  the  country- 
springs  into  a  wealth  of  verdure  and  glows  with  many 
varieties  of  pretty  wild  flowers.  Strawberries  ripen  in 
June  beside  belated  melting  banks  of  snow.  The  snow 
never  disappears  entirely  until  late  in  June.  From  the 
first  of  May  until  the  middle  of  August  daylight  is  con- 
tinuous, and  sunshine  all  pervading,  accelerating  the 
growths  of  all  kinds  of  vegetables  so  that  the  transition 
from  winter  to  summer,  E.  S.  Harrison  writes,  is  so  sud- 
den as  to  seem  almost  magical.  At  Nome  on  the  shortest 
day,  he  says,  the  sun  is  hidden  less  than  three  hours,  but 
it  is  so  near  the  horizon  that  the  land  is  flooded  with  a 
soft  light  by  which  one  can  see  to  read  ordinary  print. 
This  continuous  daylight  lengthens  the  ordinary  working 
season,  as  there  is  no  cessation  of  work  caused  by  night. 
At  the  mines  the  hum  of  machinery  never  ceases.  Nurses 
roll  their  baby  carriages  about  the  streets,  scanning  the 
shop  windows  by  daylight  at  eleven  o'clock  P.  M.,  and 
saunterers  view  the  firmament  and  the  aurora  borealis 
from  the  park  benches  at  the  midnight  hour  the  same  as 
they  would  watch  the  stars  in  lower  latitudes  from  under 
the  electric  lights.  It  is  warmer  in  Nome  than  it  is  in 
Winnipeg,  excepting  that  they  have  less  hours  of  sun- 
light. Quoting  from  his  valuable  work,  "The  Seward 
Peninsula,"  the  text  runs: 

"The  early  part  of  the  summer  season  is  usually  clear 
and  dry,  and  a  more  beautiful  and  salubrious  climate 
could  not  be  desired.  The  latter  part  is  filled  with  storms 
and  almost  constant  rain,  and  it  is  hard  to  imagine  a 
more  tempestuous  climate.  There  is  no  springtime,  as 
indicated  by  the  usual  signs.  We  have  but  two  seasons — 
a  short  summer  and  a  long  winter." 

What  follows  is  interesting: — 

"Evidences  of  the  approach  of  winter  are  seen  late  in 
September,  sometimes  in  the  latter  part  of  August.   The 


200  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

first  frost  changes  the  hue  of  the  landscape.  In  October 
ice  forms  on  the  streams,  a  passing  cloud  brings  a  snow 
squall.  Miners  begin  to  have  difficulty  with  frozen  water 
in  their  sluice  boxes,  and  by  the  15th  or  the  20th  of  the 
month  mining  operations  are  pretty  generally  suspended. 
After  this  the  snow  usually  comes  to  stay.  Nights  are 
cold  and  the  days  generally  shorten,  so  that  the  sun  does 
not  have  an  opportunity  to  undo  the  work  that  King 
Frost  does  during  the  night.  The  waters  of  Bering  Sea 
become  mushy  from  partial  congealation,  and  great  floes, 
which  are  formed  farther  north  and  have  been  detached 
by  winds  and  currents,  flow  down  the  sea  in  front  of 
Nome.  They  may  attach  themselves  to  the  shore  to  be 
broken  again  by  winds  and  waves  and  float  away.  Be- 
fore this  occurs,  however,  the  last  steamer  has  sailed 
from  Nome,  small  crafts  have  been  brought  into  the 
mouth  of  the  Snake  River  to  their  winter  quarters,  and 
numerous  lighters  used  for  transferring  freight  and  pas- 
sengers from  steamers  to  the  land  have  been  brought  to 
the  shore  and  beached.  The  roadstead,  in  which  there 
were  steamers  all  summer  long,  and  which  during  this 
time  was  a  scene  of  great  activity,  is  deserted.  On  a 
morning  usually  in  November,  but  sometimes  as  late  as 
December,  the  inhabitants  of  Nome  awaken  and  look  out 
from  their  homes  over  a  sea  of  ice.  Winter  has  begun 
in  earnest,  and  the  community  realizes  that  for  the  next 
seven  months  it  is  sequestered,  isolated,  and  shut  off  from 
the  balance  of  the  world  by  barriers  of  ice  and  snow. 
From  this  time  until  the  ice  goes  out,  the  only  means  of 
communication  with  the  outside  world  are  dog  and  rein- 
deer teams  and  the  telegraph. 

"The  winters  are  not  as  severe  as  one  would  imagine. 
In  a  few  years  a  person  becomes  acclimated,  and  all 
dread  of  the  cold  disappears.  At  Nome  the  thermometer 
sometimes  falls  to  forty  degrees  below  zero.  Inland,  a 
distance  of  fifty  miles  or  more,  the  thermometer  drops 
much  lower,  sometimes  indicating  fifty-eight  degrees  or 
sixty  below  zero.  This  temperature  is  endurable  by 
adopting  the  native  dress  of  fur  parka  and  using  felt 
shoes,  or  mukluks,  the  native  skin  boot,  and  protecting  the 
hands  with  fur  mittens.  People  travel  from  one  part  of 
the  peninsula  to  another.  Commerce  between  the  camps 
of  the  peninsula  is  interrupted  only  by  blizzards.  It  is 
when  the  wind  blows  that  there  is  danger  on  the  trail. 


SEASONAL   PHASES.  20I 

Between  Nome  and  Council  City  hot  air  stages  run 
pretty  regularly,  the  schedule  being  interrupted  only 
when  a  blizzard  blows.  A  low  temperature  does  not 
cause  great  inconvenience  to  the  man  who  is  properly 
clothed  if  the  air  be  still,  but  the  cutting  blast  of  the  bliz- 
zard in  zero  weather  cannot  be  withstood  for  any  great 
length  of  time.  Blizzards  are  of  frequent  occurrence, 
and  they  often  come  suddenly  with  little  or  no  warning. 
The  men  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  blizzards  of 
Northwestern  Alaska  generally  were  people  who  did  not 
understand  the  lore  of  the  land  or  else  exercised  poor 
judgment  in  attempting  to  travel  at  a  perilous  time.  Since 
the  settlement  of  the  country  and  the  establishment  of 
road-houses  along  the  trails  the  danger  of  freezing  is  not 
serious.  The  miner  prepares  a  cache  for  his  meats  and 
such  stores  as  will  not  be  injured  by  freezing,  as  the 
Northland  in  winter  is  a  very  successful  cold  storage 
plant. 

"As  there  is  almost  continuous  day  in  June,  so  there  is 
almost  continuous  night  in  December.  In  the  shortest 
day  the  sun  describes  an  arc  in  the  southern  heavens  of 
about  one-eighth  of  his  circle.  He  rises  in  the  south  and 
sets  in  the  south,  and  is  so  far  away  that  there  is  scarcely 
a  trace  of  coronal  rays.  He  looks  like  a  big  disk  of  bur- 
nished gold,  and  his  rays  furnish  a  weak  light,  but  no 
perceptible  heat.  In  the  winter  there  is  an  absence  of 
almost  all  color  except  white,  save  in  the  mornings  and 
evenings.  Before  sunrise  and  at  sunset  frequently  the 
southern  skies  are  flooded  with  the  most  gorgeous  colors. 
If  one  has  not  seen  a  sunrise  or  a  sunset  in  high  latitudes, 
one  cannot  imagine  the  intensity  of  the  colors.  With  the 
exception  of  these  color  interludes,  the  perspective  in 
every  direction,  landward  or  seaward,  is  an  unbroken 
white.  The  white  level  tundra  reaches  back  to  the  white 
hills,  the  white  hills  to  the  white  mountains,  and  over  all 
'That  inverted  Bowl  they  call  the  Sky'  is  gray  and  cold. 

"At  Nome  a  winter  day  sees  a  city  partially  covered 
with  snow.  Smoke  from  a  thousand  chimneys  curls 
through  the  crisp  air.  A  door  of  a  store  or  a  saloon  is 
opened,  and  the  warm  air  rushing  from  the  interior  of 
the  building  makes  a  fog  as  it  rushes  out.  The  water 
vendors,  some  of  them  still  using  the  primitive  coaloil- 
can  as  a  receptacle  for  the  water  which  they  have  taken 
from  holes  made  through  the  ice  of  the  river,  may  be 


202  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

seen  driving  their  frost-covered  teams  through  the  streets. 
Men  with  dog  teams  are  hurrying  along  the  trails,  up 
or  down  the  beach,  or  across  the  tundra.  Out  on  the  ice 
of  Bering  Sea  may  be  sec-1  a  dozen  or  a  hundred  fisher- 
men bobbing  through  holes  in  the  ice  for  torn  cod." 

Residents  of  Nome  devote  a  great  deal  of  time  to  so- 
cial entertainments.  Out  of  door  sports  are  varied,  and 
there  is  a  Ski  Club  which  gives  tournaments.  Sleighing 
behind  dog  teams  is  a  favorite  pastime.  Ladies  snugly 
wrapped  in  their  furs,  sitting  in  a  sled  behind  a  team  of 
huskies,  the  driver  running  behind,  holding  on  to  the 
handle-bars,  jumping  upon  the  runners,  and  riding 
whenever  it  is  convenient,  is  a  very  common  sight. 
People  winter  through  comfortably.  Many  residences 
and  store  buildings  are  provided  with  heaters  or  base- 
burner  stoves  in  which  anthracite  coal  is  burned.  Even 
those  who  live  in  cabins  keep  warm.  No  hardship  or 
inconvenience  is  experienced  by  those  who  have  no  occa- 
sion to  travel.  The  temperature  is  not  always  low. 
There  are  many  days  when  the  thermometer  registers 
above  zero,  and  once  in  a  while  there  is  a  thaw.  All  sup- 
plies required  for  winter  use  are  shipped  in  and  stored 
before  the  close  of  navigation.  Coal  and  provisions  are 
in  good  supply.  There  is  a  hot-house  where  winter  vege- 
tables are  furnished  to  such  as  can  afford  to  pay  the 
price.  When  spring  approaches  people  begin  to  look 
anxiously  and  longingly  for  the  first  steamer.  On  some 
bright  day,  or  in  the  dimmer  light  of  the  night  early  in 
June,  a  keen-eyed  Eskimo  raises  the  shout: 

"Oomiakpuk!" 

This  is  his  native  language  for  steamboat. 

Then  everybody  rushes  to  the  harbor  front,  no  matter 
what  the  hour ;  bells  ring  and  whistles  blow.  Its  arrival 
marks  the  renewal  of  business  activity. 


THE   SAMOVAR. 

An  Alaskan  Mi  Netoscope. 


I  remember  it  well,  although  the  incidents  are  some- 
what confused  in  respect  to  their  procession  and  sequence. 
Some  are  vivid,  and  others  shadowy  as  the  clouds  which 
rest  on  Edgecombe  and  Vostovia.  It  was  shortly  after 
the  Treaty  Cession,  just  at  the  gathering  of  dusk,  near 
the  end  of  one  of  those  brief  winter  days  when  the  sun 
describes  but  a  low  arc  above  the  Alaskan  horizon ;  hardly 
three  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  by  standard  time.  The  de- 
serted castle  of  the  Baranovs  stood  stark  and  gaunt  upon 
the  rocky  eminence  which  overlooks  the  Bay  of  Sitka. 
One  could  hardly  trace  its  blurred  outlines  in  the  gloam- 
ing. The  staircase  which  led  up  the  stoop  to  its  portals 
was  already  rickety.  Its  great  chambers  were  empty,  and 
dust  had  gathered  thickly  in  the  court  apartments  and 
throne-room  since  the  evacuation.  The  retiring  Musco- 
vites had  left  absolutely  nothing  but  the  empty  echo  of 
their  long-continued  occupation,  and  that  was  well-nigh 
hushed.  Impelled  by  a  sentimental  curiosity,  I  had  pene- 
trated with  aimless  quest  where  footsteps  seldom  fell  in 
those  vacuous  days,  and  in  an  isolated  suite  of  rooms  I 
fancied  I  had  found  the  boudoir  of  "my  lady  of  the 
castle,"  for  there  was  just  perceptible  the  faintest  sus- 
picion of  an  agreeable  perfume,  with  traces  here  and 
there  of  faded  frescoes,  bits  of  crimson  glass  from  a 
broken  window,  and  other  intimations,  familiar  and  en- 
trancing, of  a  blessed  feminine  occupancy  in  days  past. 
The  situation  was  suggestive  and  full  of  sentiment.  It 
inspired  reveries  and  stimulated  fancies;  and  just  here,  I 
remember,  my  strange  experiences  began.  I  stood,  una- 
wares, upon  the  very  threshold  of  my  vision. 

While  I  lingered  there  floated  through  a  door  ajar  a 
decided  and  unmistakable  aroma  of  steeping  tea,  as  if 
blent  with  fragrance  of  sweet  blossoms.     Startled  first, 


204 


'PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 


and  then  sensibly  assured  of  the  proximity  of  an  actual 
presence,  I  ventured  further,  by  no  means  cautious  of 
intrusion,  and  peering  into  the  adjoining  room,  forth- 
with discovered  two  priests  of  the  Greco-Russian  Church, 
in  sombre  garb.  These,  I  made  no  doubt,  were  a  part  of 
the  clerical  contingent  left  by  the  abdicating  Bishop  to 
take  charge  of  the  sacred  properties,  for  which  a  special 
fund  is  provided  by  the  Russian  Government  to  this  day.* 
One  of  the  priests  was  seated  on  a  rude  cedar  chest;  the 
other  stood  beside  a  cylindrical  stove  of  sheet-iron,  such 
as  are  still  seen  in  some  Russian  dwellings  in  Sitka,  upon 
the  top  of  which  was  steaming  an  old  brass  samovar  of 
antique  pattern. 

With  the  exception  of  a  lighted  chandelier  swung  from 
the  lofty  ceiling,  there  was  no  other  furniture  in  the 
apartment.  Some  other  impulse  than  volition  carried  me 
past  the  door,  and  as  I  watched,  apparently  without  being 
observed,  it  seemed  as  if  such  volumes  of  vapor  never 
emanated  from  so  small  a  vessel  before.  They  fairly 
rolled  out  of  the  urn,  filling  the  apartment,  rendering  ob- 
jects indistinct,  and  creating  unstable  outlines.  Even  the 
figures  of  the  priests  became  clouded  in  the  obscurity. 
The  penetrating  quality  of  the  exhalations  at  once  con- 
vinced my  nerves  that  the  decoction  was  something 
more  than  mere  tea.  Its  fumes  set  my  brain  in  a  whirl, 
and  my  consciousness  assumed  altogether  a  nebulous 
character.  I  could  not  have  articulated  if  I  had  tried. 
Had  I  succeeded  in  speaking,  the  whole  phantasm  would 
have  undoubtedly  passed  off  at  once.  It  is  always  so,  I 
believe,  in  nightmares.  Whenever  the  victim  can  give  ut- 
terance, he  wakes.  However,  this  was  a  different  sort  of 
a  trance.  I  fancied  I  heard  the  priest  who  supervised 
the  samovar  distinctly  inquire  of  his  companion,  "Has 
my  lady  set  the  lights  in  the  cupola  ?"  t 

"She  has,  comrade;  and  so  has  she  done  for  fifty 
years." 

"Correct.  By  my  faith !  were  it  not  for  my  lady,  poor 
ghost !  I  don't  know  what  our  beacon  would  do  for  light, 
since  our  supplies  of  oil  are  no  longer  forthcoming. 
Alack!  the  navies  of  the  Czar  may  never  sail  into  this 
harbor  more ;  yet  it  is  befitting  the  Christianity  which  we 
profess,  and  I  hope  observe,  that  a  beacon  should  be  ever 
lighted  for  such  anxious  and  benighted  voyagers  as  may 
chance  this  way." 


THE  SAMOVAR.  205 

"Methinks,  brother  Andreas,  the  lady  will  hardly  keep 
her  vigils  after  the  premises  are  occupied  by  these  Yankee 
new-comers.  Yet,  I  make  no  doubt  there  is  more  of  self- 
interest  than  philanthropy  in  her  method.  Has  the  citizen 
arrived?" 

"He  is  here." 

So?  I  was  expected,  then,  if  not  announced!  The 
thought  naturally  presented  itself,  yet  the  priests  had 
shown  no  sign.  Unwittingly  I  had  become  particeps  in 
the  play.  Without  more  ado,  the  officiating  priest  turned 
to  me  in  a  perfunctory  way,  while  the  nimbus  of  vapor 
grew  luminous  about  his  features. 

"I  may  tell  you,"  he  said,  as  he  mechanically  stirred  the 
contents  of  the  samovar,  "that  we  are  brewing  here  a 
sort  of  exegetical  punch,  the  basis  of  which  is  tea — tea 
brought  to  Russia  from  the  Steppes  of  Chinese  Tartary 
on  the  backs  of  dromedaries,  and  bartered  in  this  country 
for  the  furs  of  Alaska.  In  a  manner  it  is  a  symposium 
of  history.  You  perceive  that  we  have  here  the  essence 
of  three  great  empires  presented  at  once.  We  have 
already  infused  some  flavor  of  Japan  and  Mexico,  to  say 
nothing  of  a  soupcon  of  France  and  Great  Britain,  which 
you  will  perceive  illustrated  on  the  ethnological  profile  of 
the  coast.  All  that  is  needed  to  make  a  combination 
worthy  of  record  is  to  stir  in  a  little  of  the  dust  of  an- 
tiquity. And  if  we  add  a  modicum  of  piety,  such  as  the 
Greek  Church  affords  and  dispenses,  and  [he  nodded  sig- 
nificantly] a  spice  of  American  politics,  we  shall  have  a 
concoction  that  will  not  shame  the  ingredients." 

The  purport  of  his  words  was  not  altogether  clear  to 
my  mind,  a  fact  which  the  expression  of  my  face  no 
doubt  disclosed,  for,  after  a  scrutinizing  glance,  he  said 
amiabJy:  "I  will  be  more  explicit."  But  instead  of  fur- 
ther discourse,  he  simply  agitated  the  samovar  gently,  and 
forthwith  a  column  of  steam  rose  to  the  ceiling  in  fleecy 
convolutions,  clinging  to  the  walls  in  a  drapery  of  clouds. 
Then  from  the  nucleus  of  each  misty  fold  came  out,  one 
by  one,  the  portraits  of  old  explorers,  priests,  and  traders 
who  had  been  identified  with  the  history  of  Alaska  since 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  Bering,  Valdez,  La 
Perouse,  Cook,  Vancouver,  Lisianski,  Quodra,  Juan 
de  Fuca,  Veniaminoff,  Wrangell,  Shellikov,  Bara- 
nov,  and,  conspicuous  among  all  the  rest,  with  features 
fresher  and  outlines  more  distinct,  the  familiar  likeness 


2o6"  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

of  William  H.  Seward!  Then  the  priest  gave  a  compre- 
hensive sweep  of  his  arm,  and  lo!  the  misty  canopy  be- 
came diaphanous,  and  transparent,  and  luminous,  with 
undulating  scintillations  like  the  aurora  borealis,  and  from 
coruscating  plaques  vivid  reminiscences  came  to  view, 
like  the  ethereal  refractions  of  a  mirage,  and  I  seemed  to 
see  the  fleets  of  Russia  swarming  in  the  Aleutian  Archi- 
pelago and  dominating  all  the  waters  from  the  Gulf  of 
California  to  the  gateway  of  the  Arctic  Sea,  entrepots 
and  trading  posts  at  all  commercial  points,  missionary 
stations  scattered  throughout  the  land,  agricultural 
areas  tenanted  with  flocks  and  herds,  and  teeming 
with  garden  vegetables,  shipyards  where  fleets  were 
built  and  fitted  out,  foundries  where  bells  were  cast  for 
all  the  churches  and  chapels  hence  to  Mexico,  factories 
of  woolen  fabrics,  woodenware  and  farm  implements, 
mines  of  lead  and  iron  and  coal,  supplying  steamers 
which  plied  to  Russian  ports ;  great  walrus  and  sea-otter 
camps,  with  substantial  warehouses  and  dwellings,  and 
whaling  vessels  by  the  score  cruising  northward  to  the 
land's  end.  The  hardships  of  the  early  discoverers,  the 
struggles  of  Russians,  English,  French,  and  Spaniards 
for  possession ;  the  conflicts  with  the  natives,  the  cruel 
orgies  of  the  aborigines;  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
among  them  by  the  missionaries  as  long  ago  as  1759; 
their  laborious  instruction  in  grammar  and  the  ruder  arts, 
all  culminating  in  the  pomp  of  the  old  court  at  Sitka, 
passed  in  successive  phantasmagoria.  Incidentally  there 
came  to  view  a  panorama  of  volcanic  eruptions,  earth- 
quakes, upheavals,  cleavages,  mountain  floods,  and  tidal 
waves,  some  recent,  destroying  whole  towns  and  obliter- 
ating entire  populations  and  races  of  men;  and  back  of 
all  these  were  penumbra  of  prehistoric  peoples — referred 
to  in  ancient  literature  as  "dwellers  in  Cimmerian  dark- 
ness beyond  the  sea" — whose  race  characteristics  have 
been  transmitted  through  all  the  generations  to  Innuit, 
Thlinkit,  Haida,  Ingaleek,  and  Aleut — typical  enigmas 
even  now  to  all  ethnologists. 

What  I  saw  was  a  veritable  stereopticon  of  Alaskan 
history  from  its  beginning,  covered  chiefly  by  the  epoch 
of  Russian  occupation.  I  was  impressed  with  the  mar- 
velous resources  of  the  country,  and  especially  with  the 
wonderful  achievements  of  the  Slavonic  regime,  of  which 
I  had  formed  no  adequate  conception ;  but  the  true  signi- 


THE  SAMOVAR.  207 

ficance  of  the  allegory  did  not  immediately  present  itself. 
There  was  an  insinuating  touch  of  diplomacy  in  the 
method  and  manner  of  the  priest  which  I  could  not  fully 
comprehend.  The  suggestions  compassed  some  hidden 
contingency  which  I  could  not  fathom. 

I  would  fain  have  contemplated  the  strange  phenomena, 
but  even  while  I  looked  they  melted  into  thin  air,  and 
only  a  diminutive  spiral  was  seen  to  issue  from  the  samo- 
var; nay,  I  would  have  bespoken  a  literal  interpretation 
had  I  not  been  cautioned  by  an  uplifted  finger  of  the 
priest.  Then,  simultaneously  a  puff  of  vapor  mounted 
from  the  rim,  whiter  than  before,  spreading  itself  abroad 
and  enfolding  with  its  translucent  fleecy  drapery  the  be- 
atific figure  of  the  Genius  of  Liberty!  It  lingered  for  an 
instant  only  and  then  vanished,  and  in  the  fading  I  fan- 
cied I  detected  the  evanescent  semblance  of  an  Imperial 
Presence  supporting  it  behind,  massive  and  august,  but 
god-like  and  benignant.  A  moment  later  the  room  was 
as  clear  of  vapor  as  the  outdoor  atmosphere  after  a  sum- 
mer shower. 

I  leaned  forward  with  feverish  interest. 

"Ask  me  no  questions,"  the  priest  interposed.  "The  tab- 
leaux which  you  have  seen  must  convince  you  of  the  in- 
domitable power  of  Russia  and  the  energy  which  vitalizes 
her  remotest  extremities.  For  a  century  and  a  half  she 
has  possessed  this  Alaskan  land.  She  subdued  it,  she  de- 
veloped it,  and  she  has  converted  it.  It  is  yours  now  to 
cherish  and  enlighten.  Her  whole  future  is  fraught  with 
political  and  economic  possibilities  of  most  momentous 
character.  In  the  old  days  the  hand  of  the  Muscovite 
has  lain  heavily  upon  his  subjects,  but  the  world  pro- 
gresses and  the  prerogatives  of  serfs  enlarge.  Let  the 
spirit  of  intellectual  liberty  and  republicanism  now  illu- 
mine and  pervade  the  land,  and  the  result  will  be  remu- 
nerative beyond  calculation.  The  welfare  of  Russia  and 
the  great  republic  are  intimately  involved  with  each 
other.  When  your  country  was  wrenched  with  the 
throes  of  threatened  dissolution,  the  Muscovite  stood 
ready  to  aid  in  a  last  extremity,  and  her  whole  armada 
was  at  your  service.  It  may  happen  again  in  the  com- 
plications of  international  politics  that  the  United  States 
will  welcome  the  grip  of  a  helping  hand,  and  that  the 
hand  of  the  greatest  Power  on  earth.  The  intermediate 
position  of  Alaska  binds  the  two  countries  in  close  affinity, 


2o8  PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

and  toward  her  former  ward  Russia  will  always  stand 
in  the  light  of  a  foster  parent." 

A  jarring  of  a  window  here  momentarily  drew  my  at- 
tention, and  when  I  turned  again  the  priestly  occupants 
of  the  room  were  gone. 

But  the  impressions  left  by  that  ghostly  seance  will 
never  be  effaced.  I  believe  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when,  prompted  by  common  sense  and  wise  counsel,  a 
naval  station  will  be  located  on  the  northwest  coast,  and 
an  overland  railroad  and  telegraph  wire  stretch  across 
Alaska  to  Bering  Strait,  joining  the  two  contiguous  con- 
tinents by  marine  cable  across  the  narrow  ocean  gap 
which  intervenes.  Then  our  long-neglected  province 
will  not  only  resound  with  busy  industry,  but  vie  with 
her  active  British  neighbor  for  commercial  supremacy  on 
the  Western  seas. 


X 

— 

r. 
W 

H 

> 


ALASKA   OF   TO-DAY. 


When  the  last  of  the  miners  came  out  from  the  upper 
Yukon  gold  region  on  October  15,  1896,  they  made  the 
time  from  Forty-Mile  Creek  to  Juneau  in  twenty-five 
days,  travelling  by  steamboat,  bateau,  and  pack-horses, 
and  those  who  made  the  trip  allowed  that  the  time  could 
be  materially  shortened.  Previously  the  journey  had  re- 
quired several  months  and  great  hardship  in  poling  up 
the  chain  of  lakes  and  against  an  eight-mile  river  current, 
a  distance  of  700  miles,  to  the  Dyea  Pass,  over  which  an 
Indian  trail  led  to  Chilkat  at  the  head  of  tide-water; 
from  which  point  the  remainder  of  the  trip  was  easy. 
Everything  had  to  be  packed  on  the  backs  of  native 
porters  at  a  cost  of  fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  a  pound, 
grub  included,  from  Skagway  over  the  summit  and  vice 
versa.  Between  the  Chilcoot  Pass  and  the  Dyea  Pass  it 
was  "Hobson's  choice."  Two  years  later,  when  George 
A.  Brackett's  wagon  road  over  the  ridge  was  finished  and 
open  for  use  at  a  cost  of  some  $200,000,  the  rate  dropped 
to  twelve  cents.  Now  over  the  busy  Yukon  railroad  it  is 
two  cents,  with  a  corresponding  reduction  of  time  in 
transit. 

This  is  destined  within  two  years  to  be  the  history  of 
all  the  transportation  lines  leading  to  going  mines  of 
whatever  sort — coal,  gold,  copper  or  tin.  Railroads  now 
building  and  planned  for  central  Alaska,  of  which  300 
miles  had  been  completed  in  1907,  according  to  Gov. 
Hoggatt's  annual  report,  comprise  2,000  miles  of  track. 
From  Skagway  to  White  Pass  is  the  most  important. 
This  has  20  miles  in  American  territory  and  92  miles 
in  British-America.  There  are  a  number  of  short  roads 
about  Nome,  and  one  at  Yakutat  on  the  southern  coast. 
At  Fairbanks  there  is  the  Tanana  Mines  railway,  and 
plans  are  being  pushed  along  the  Copper  River  valley. 
Starting  from  Valdez,  there  are  two  roads  partly  built, 
a  main  line  to  St.  Michael  and  a  branch  to  Eagle,  the 


2io  'PEERLESS    'ALASKA. 

latter  following  up  the  Copper  River  valley,  thence  over 
an  imperceptible  divide  to  the  Tenana  River,  thence  to 
the  headwaters  of  Forty-Mile  River  and  down  to  the 
Yukon,  the  distance  being  115  miles,  against  594  via 
Skagway  and  Canadian  territory.  Valdez,  on  Cook  Inlet, 
is  the  only  feasible  starting  point,  geographically,  for  an 
all- American  route  to  the  interior  of  Alaska.  It  is  the 
distributing  point  already  for  seven  mail  routes.  Its 
post-office  is  of  the  Presidential  class.  Military  telegraph 
lines  extend  to  all  Yukon  and  Tenana  River  points,  and 
to  Cape  Nome  (wireless  and  cable  from  St.  Michael 
across  Morton  Sound),  and  the  overland  mail  routes, 
soon  to  be  followed  by  the  railroad  already  begun,  have 
dog,  horse,  and  reindeer  winter  service,  and  heated 
stages  running  over  across  country  which  only  a  few 
years  ago  was  a  terra  incognita  except  to  Indians,  trap- 
pers, and  fur  hunters.  Many  hundreds  of  interior  post 
roads,  wagon  roads,  and  trails  with  bridges,  have  been 
opened  up  within  three  years  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board  of  Road  Commissioners,  authorized  by  Congress 
in  1905.  Outfitting  points  for  miners  have  been  removed 
from  Seattle  to  Valdez  and  Juneau,  so  that  the  cost  is 
little  more  than  wholesale  prices  with  freight  added,  and 
the  buyer  is  saved  wharfage,  care  of  shipping,  etc. 

Under  the  improved  situation  gold  mining  in  the  inte- 
rior is  stripped  of  much  of  its  former  hardship,  and  the 
influx  of  gold  seekers  has  greatly  multiplied.  There  are  at 
least  8,000  miners  distributed  over  the  expansive  Yukon 
gold  region  and  12,000  in  the  Nome  district  throughout 
the  Seward  Peninsula.  A  dozen  "cities"  have  grown  up 
at  the  mining  centers,  of  which  Circle  City,  Nome,  Val- 
dez, Eagle  City,  Seward,  and  Fairbanks  are  the  chief. 
Nome  has  a  summer  population  of  several  thousand,  and 
a  three-story  80-room  hotel  with  all  modern  equipments. 
St.  Michael  has  4,000  residents  with  large  warehouses 
and  hotels  to  accommodate  the  miners,  and  spacious 
warehouses,  barracks,  and  officers'  quarters,  and  other 
buildings  for  the  U.  S.  military  post.  The  government 
has  eight  military  stations  in  Alaska,  namely,  at  Dyea, 
Wrangell,  Circle  City,  St.  Michael,  Rampart  City,  Pyra- 
mid Harbor,  Sitka,  and  on  the  military  road  north  of 
Valdez.  In  the  matter  of  coast  navigation  the  govern- 
ment has  provided  aids  and  appliances  so  liberally,  light- 
houses, buoys,  fog  horns,  tripods,  and  the  like,  that  Gov. 


ALASKA    OF   TO-DAY.  211 

Hoggatt  asks  for  a  separate  lighthouse  district  for 
Alaska.  So  far  as  southeastern  Alaska  is  concerned,  the 
railroads  have  not  come,  because  the  coast  is  so  easily 
accessible  by  the  sea  and  the  channels  so  readily  navi- 
gated that,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  sea  has 
furnished  the  easiest  and  most  economical  way  of  ap- 
proach. 

It  does  not  take  long  to  move  a  large  migration  and 
occupy  a  territory  where  there  is  sufficient  inducement  in 
sight.  Oklahoma  passed  from  nonentity  to  statehood  in 
ten  years.  Kansas  filled  up  in  an  equal  time.  Utah  was 
settled  by  40,000  people  in  ten  years.  Ten  thousand  per- 
sons had  moved  to  California  one  year  after  gold  was 
discovered  there.  Fifty  thousand  people  have  moved 
into  the  Arctic  Circle  within  ten  years.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  into  the  subarctic  wheat  fields  of  the 
Canadian  northwest  during  the  five  years  past. 

Mining  on  the  Seward  Peninsula  is  no  longer  restricted 
to  a  few  summer  months.  Subterranean  placers  belong- 
ing to  an  ancient  geological  period  have  been  discovered 
under  the  tundra  back  of  Nome,  between  the  coast  and 
the  mountains,  where  men  can  mine  the  whole  year 
round  wita  a  twelve- foot  roof  of  frozen  earth  over  their 
heads,  quite  comfortable  out  of  the  surface  cold,  and 
working  by  electric  light.  Copper  and  tin  mines  are 
being  worked  in  regions  wide  apart.  Extensive  coal 
fields  are  being  opened  out.  Petroleum,  gypsum,  silver, 
lead,  and  marble  are  possible  assets,  and  railroads  are 
hastening  to  reach  them.  All  known  modern  contrivances 
to  facilitate  work  are  in  use.  In  the  days  of  the  early 
prospectors  everything  was  crude  and  done  by  hand. 
Now  there  are  gravity  railroads  and  electric  and  steam 
tramways,  compressed-air  drills,  snowsheds,  protecting 
apparatus,  and  work  is  prosecuted  in  the  drifts  and  tun- 
nels the  whole  year  round.  Gold  is  everywhere,  but  it  is 
truth  to  say  that  the  only  interior  mines  which  it  pays 
to  work  pending  transportation  are  the  high-grade  placers 
such  as  those  on  the  Shushitna,  Chisna,  Slate,  Nizina, 
and  Bremner.  Anticipating  the  railroads,  the  Seward 
Co-operative  Telephone  Company  have  constructed  last 
year  600  miles  of  double  wires  from  Nome  to  Candle 
City,  and  from  Nome  to  Kougarok  via  Salmon  Lake,  and 
thence  to  Teller  and  the  tin  region,  and  were  planning 
to  run  a  line  to  Penny  River  and  eastward,    The  phones 


212  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

are  of  the  automatic  central  battery  system,  which  do 
not  require  the  user  to  "ring  central."  Alaska  is  always 
up  to  date  in  these  days.    She  does  nothing  by  halves. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  all  Yukon  miners  used  to  drop 
down  the  river  to  St.  Michael  or  clamber  over  the  tough 
"divide"  into  Juneau  and  spent  their  dust  at  Dick  Wil- 
loughby's  or  one  or  another  of  the  semi-reputable  resorts 
of  the  town,  in  the  weary  effort  to  while  away  the  tedious 
winter.  Those  who  have  been  to  the  camps  know  how 
it  is  themselves.  But  now  there  are  no  more  dives  and 
"Nips  and  Tucks"  and  "Damfinos"  in  Juneau.  Aleck 
Choquette,  King  Lear,  J.  B.  Whitford,  McFarland,  Pow- 
ers, Starr,  Vanderbilt,  Lynch,  and  the  other  old-timers 
who  located  the  place  under  the  original  name  of  Harri- 
sonburg would  not  recognize  it  now.  Everything  is  po- 
liced and  proper,  and  the  Klootchmen  of  years  ago,  who 
were  the  prey  of  adventurers,  are  now  the  wards  of  the 
sisters  and  missionaries,  and  the  foot  that  slipped  on  the 
side  hill  then  is  now  stayed  by  substantial  sidewalks.  Be- 
sides, there  is  a  veritable  bishop  (Rowe),  with  his  own 
diocese  and  an  assistant  bishop  right  there  in  Juneau, 
with  a  rectory  and  church  edifice,  with  stained-glass  win- 
dows and  everything  in  keeping.  Every  churchman 
knows  what  this  means.  They  all  know  that  when  the 
flock  increases  the  supervision  widens  and  extends,  and 
that  licentiousness  and  barbarism  disappear  when  the 
totem  of  St.  Hubert  is  held  aloft;  for  the  canonized 
churchman  and  the  knights  of  St.  Hubert  are  all  in  close 
communion  together.  But  you  should  see  the  good  Dr. 
Rowe  on  his  annual  visitation !  His  diocese  embraces  a 
semi-continental  area,  and  a  continuous  circuit  of  10,000 
miles  by  water  lines  which  formerly  were  traversed 
mainly  by  canoes,  was  then  a  mere  episode  in  the  career 
of  his  busy  Christian  life. 

I  remember  when  I  first  went  to  Alaska,  in  1885,  and 
took  a  venture  in  the  first  fissure  prospect  that  was  de- 
veloped at  Lake  Mountain,  near  Sitka,  how  individual- 
ized each  dusky  Siwash  was  at  the  time,  and  how  he 
gave  imposing  "potlatches,"  whose  cost  can  only  be  esti- 
mated, and  buried  ill-starred  slaves  under  the  four  foun- 
dation posts  of  his  new  slab  palace  by  way  of  a  house- 
warming!  Now,  to-day,  within  sight  of  the  spot  where 
the  dead  were  incinerated  on  funeral  piles,  the  good  and 
reverend  ShHdc.n  J.iH^nn  ]>■>. -.  >„,  i.-  >..<n;*.m  hrp* 


ALASKA    OF   TO-DAY. 


213 


and  well-appointed  edifices,  two  and  three  stories  high, 
included  in  his  Presbyterian  Seminary  at  Sitka,  whose 
dusky  uniformed  pupils  are  builders  of  model  dwelling- 
houses  and  artificers  in  all  kinds  of  handiwork.  And  so 
it  goes  on  steadily,  progressively,  and  rapidly. 

No  geographical  division  of  the  United  States  has  im- 
proved in  such  ratio  as  Alaska.  The  old  regime  has  been 
totally  superseded,  and  the  beneficence  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation has  reached  to  its  remotest  confines  and  inner- 
most parts.  The  other  day  a  returned  lay  teacher  an- 
nounced a  lecture  in  one  of  our  chief  Western  cities,  and 
collected  a  numerous  audience  to  be  informed  how  badly 
the  natives  of  the  Golden  Province  District  smelled  of 
fish-oil,  and  what  barbarous  crudities  cropped  out  all 
along  the  line  of  their  progress  since  the  date  of  the  ces- 
sion ;  and  when  I  ventured  to  hint  in  the  presence  of  her 
credulous  hearers  that  she  must  have  been  chiefly  em- 
ployed at  Kilisnoo  (which  is  a  porpoise-oil  factory  with 
a  plant  costing  $100,000),  she  would  fain  have  had  us  all 
believe  that  the  present  population  of  southeastern  Alaska 
were  little  better  than  the  Eskimos  of  Kotzebue  Sound, 
who  live  on  blubber  and  sea-oil,  chiefly,  because  other 
provender  is  hard  to  get — or  was  until  the  benificent 
Sheldon  Jackson  imported  reindeer  from  Siberia  to  keep 
the  feeble  spark  of  life  aglow  until  times  should  better 
and  every  wearer  of  the  sealskin  kamelik  secure  a  grub 
stake  on  the  coast. 

And  what  do  we  see  to-day  in  Alaska  as  the  result  of 
the  past  twenty-five  years'  work,  not  to  hark-  back  fur- 
ther ?  What  do  we  discover  ethically  as  well  as  econom- 
ically? Why,  there  are  no  less  than  fifty  mission  sta- 
tions, and  as  many  mission  schools,  operated  by  a  dozen 
different  evangelical  denominations,  besides  half  a  hun- 
dred government  public  schools,  working  harmoniously 
together  in  the  common  cause  of  pkilanthropy,  covering 
coast  and  interior  alike,  from  the  Aleutian  chain  to  the 
land's  end  in  the  Arctic  Circle,  with  their  dark-skinned 
pupils  dressed  in  the  neat  and  telling  garb  of  modern 
civilization,  and  the  faces  of  every  child  and  unsophisti- 
cated adult  beaming  with  the  consciousness  of  enlarged 
intelligence. 

And  development  has  taken  place  equally  on  all  indus- 
trial  lines.     Three   lines  of   well-appointed    freight  and 


214 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


passenger  steamers  ply  regularly  to  trading  posts  and 
populous  towns  on  the  Upper  Yukon.  Several  local  lines 
of  coastwise  steamers  connect  Seattle  and  intermediate 
ports  with  Unalaska.  Regular  communication  is  kept  up 
between  St.  Michael's  in  Bering  Sea  and  San  Francisco ; 
and  a  regular  monthly  mail  service  over  a  winter  route 
is  maintained  with  stations  within  the  Arctic  Circle  as 
far  north  as  Point  Barrow,  where  there  is  a  life-saving 
post  as  well  as  a  school  and  mission.  Steamboats  tra- 
verse the  interior  lakes  and  rivers.  They  run  up  the 
Kuskokwim  500  miles.  Far  up  on  all  the  principal  water- 
ways and  tributaries  there  are  schools,  stores,  and  mis- 
sions; all  the  old  barbarism  abolished  and  savage  tradi- 
tions obsolete !  And  the  whites  who  are  seeking  ven- 
tures in  the  province  keep  pace  with  those  in  the  States, 
aesthetically  as  well  as  commercially.  There  are  summer 
yachting  excursions  to  the  Aleutian  Islands,  diurnal  vis- 
itors to  the  Hoonah  Hot  Springs.  Alpine  clubs  and 
mountain-climbers  prospect  the  supreme  altitudes  of  the 
Fair  weather  group  and  the  intricacies  of  the  glacial 
fields.  Summer  residents  and  mine  operators  pass  their 
winters  in  the  east  and  south,  Seattle,  New  York,  and 
Florida.  The  latest  fashions  prevail  in  all  the  principal 
coastwise  towns. 

Juneau,  the  metropolis,  boasts  a  theatre  and  opera- 
house,  several  churches,  first-class  hotels,  a  hospital 
heated  by  steam,  a  fire  department,  telephone  service,  an 
electric  light  and  power  company,  a  woolen  mill  which 
manufactures  suitings,  steam  laundries,  hot  and  cold 
baths,  a  public  reading-room  and  library,  a  high  school 
and  academy,  a  kindergarten,  and  a  complement  of  doc- 
tors, dentists,  and  attorneys.  Juneau  has  a  shipyard,  an 
iron  foundry,  bank,  two  newspapers  well  edited,  a 
monthly  illustrated  magazine,  millinery  establishments, 
breweries,  a  dramatic  club,  an  athletic  society.  She  has 
meat  markets  and  seasonable  vegetables  home  grown, 
plank  sidewalks  and  macadamized  wagon  roads,  spacious 
warehouses,  and  docks  700  feet  long.  At  Douglas  Island, 
across  Gastineaux  Channel,  are  the  famous  Treadwell 
mines  and  smelters.  In  all  respects  this  neighborhood 
is  fully  up  to  date.  Already  in  Alaska  there  are  twenty- 
five  daily  and  weekly  newspapers  published.  Everywhere 
the  government,  which  was  so  slow  to  "take  en"  at  th« 


ALASKA    OF    TO-DAY.  215 

outset,  keeps  pace  with  private  enterprise,  and  the  two 
go  hand  in  hand,  working  out  the  salvation  of  the 
people,  natives  and  new-comers  alike,  and  grinding  out 
wealth  like  a  corn-sheller.  Nearly  all  of  its  vast  area 
of  600,000  square  miles  is  in  process  of  development. 
The  total  gold  output  since  the  purchase  is  stated  At 
$110,348,000.00.  Copper,  coal,  fish,  lumber,  and  fur  add 
another  great  sum.  Verily  "Our  Cache  near  the  Pole" 
is  a  bonanza  which  is  likely  to  hold  out  for  generations 
to  come. 


2l6  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


APPENDIX   A. 


Game  Legislation  for  Alaska. 

A  BILL  to  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  for  the  pro- 
tection of  game  in  Alaska,  and  for  other  purposes/' 
approved  June  7,  1902. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, That  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  for  the  protection 
of  game  in  Alaska,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved 
June  7,  1902,  be  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act  the  wanton 
destruction  of  wild  game  animals  or  wild  birds,  except 
eagles,  ravens  and  cormorants,  the  destruction  of  nests 
and  eggs  of  such  birds,  or  the  killing  of  any  wild  birds, 
except  eagles  and  ravens,  other  than  game  birds,  for  the 
purpose  of  killing  the  same  or  the  skins  or  any  part 
thereof,  except  as  hereinafter  provided,  is  hereby  pro- 
hibited. 

"Game  Defined. — The  term  'game  animals'  shall  in- 
clude deer,  moose,  caribou,  sheep,  mountain  goats,  brown 
bear,  sea  lions  and  walrus.  The  term  'game  birds'  shall 
include  water  fowl,  commonly  known  as  ducks,  geese, 
brant,  and  swans ;  shore  birds,  commonly  known  as 
plover,  snipe,  and  curlew,  and  the  several  species  jf 
grouse  and  ptarmigan. 

"Exemption. — Nothing  in  this  Act  shall  affect  any  law 
now  in  force  in  Alaska  relating  to  the  fur  seal,  sea  otter, 
or  any  fur-bearing  animal,  or  prevent  the  killing  of  any 
game  animal  or  bird  for  food  or  clothing  at  any  time  by 
natives,  or  by  miners  or  explorers,  when  in  need  of  food  ; 
but  the  game  animals  or  birds  so  killed  during  close 
season  shall  not  be  shipped  or  sold. 

"Sec.  2.  Season. — That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
person  in  Alaska  to  kill  any  wild  game  animals  or  birds, 
except  during  the  season  hereinafter  provided ;    North  of 


APPENDIX  A. 


217 


latitude  62  degrees,  brown  bear  may  be  killed  at  any  time ; 
moose,  caribou,  sheep,  walrus,  and  sea  lions  from  August 
first  to  December  tenth,  both  inclusive;  south  of  latitude 
62  degrees,  moose,  caribou  and  sheep,  from  August 
20th  to  December  31st,  both  inclusive;  brown  bear  from 
October  1st  to  July  1st,  both  inclusive;  deer  and  moun- 
tain goats  from  April  1st  to  February  1st,  both  inclusive; 
caribou  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula  before  August  12th, 
1912;  grouse,  ptarmigan,  shore  birds,  and  water- fowl 
from  September  1st  to  March  1st,  both  inclusive:  Pro- 
vided, That  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  hereby  au- 
thorized, whenever  he  shall  deem  it  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  game  animals  or  birds,  to  make  and  pub- 
lish rules  and  regulations  prohibiting  the  sale  of  any 
game  in  any  locality  modifying  the  close  seasons  herein- 
before established,  providing  different  close  seasons  for 
different  parts  of  Alaska,  placing  further  restrictions  and 
limitations  on  the  killing  of  such  animals  or  birds  in  any 
given  locality,  or  prohibiting  killing  entirely  for  a  period 
not  exceeding  two  years  in  such  locality. 

"Sec.  3.  Number. — That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
person  to  kill  any  female  or  yearling  moose  or  caribou 
or  for  any  one  person  to  kill  in  any  one  year  more  than 
the  number  specified  of  each  of  the  following  animals: 
Two  moose,  one  walrus  or  sea  lion,  three  caribou,  three 
sheep,  three  brown  bear,  or  to  kill  or  have  in  his  posses- 
sion in  any  one  day  more  than  twenty-five  grouse  or 
ptarmigan  or  twenty-five  shore  birds  or  waterfowl. 

"Guns  and  Boats. — That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
person  at  any  time  to  hunt  with  dogs  any  of  the  game 
animals  specified  in  this  Act ;  to  use  a  shotgun  larger 
than  No.  10  gauge,  or  any  gun  other  than  that  which 
can  be  fired  from  the  shoulder ;  or  to  use  steam  launches 
or  any  boats  other  than  those  propelled  by  oars  or  pad- 
dles in  the  pursuit  of  game,  animals  or  birds. 

"Sec.  4.  Sale. — That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  per- 
son or  persons  at  any  time  to  sell  or  offer  for  sale  any 
hides,  skins,  or  heads  of  any  game  animals  or  game  birds 
in  Alaska,  or  to  sell,  offer  for  sale,  or  purchase,  or  offer 
to  purchase,  any  game  animals  or  game  birds,  or  parts 
thereof,  during  the  time  when  the  killing  of  such  ani- 
mals or  birds  is  prohibited :  Provided,  That  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  dealers  having  in  possession  game  animals  or 
game  birds  legally  killed  during  the  open  season  to  dis- 


218  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

pose  of  the  same  within  fifteen  days  after  the  close  of 
said  season. 

"Sec.  5.  Licenses. — That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any- 
non-resident  of  Alaska  to  hunt  any  of  the  game  animals 
protected  by  this  Act,  except  deer  and  goats,  without 
first  obtaining  a  hunting  license,  or  to  hunt  on  the 
Kenai  Peninsula  without  a  registered  guide,  and  such 
license  shall  not  be  transferable  and  shall  be  valid  only 
during  the  calendar  year  in  which  issued.  Each  applicant 
shall  pay  a  fee  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  such  license, 
unless  he  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  in  which 
case  he  shall  pay  a  fee  of  fifty  dollars.  Each  license 
shall  be  accompanied  by  coupons  authorizing  the  ship- 
ment of  two  moose  if  killed  north  of  latitude  62  degrees, 
four  deer,  three  caribou,  three  sheep,  three  goats,  and 
three  brown  bear,  or  any  part  of  said  animals,  but  no 
more  of  any  one  kind. 

"A  resident  of  Alaska  desiring  to  export  heads  or 
trophies  of  any  of  the  game  animals  mentioned  in  this 
Act  shall  first  obtain  a  shipping  license,  for  which  he 
shall  pay  a  fee  of  forty  dollars,  permitting  the  shipment 
of  heads  or  trophies  of  one  moose,  if  killed  north  of 
latitude  62  degrees,  four  deer,  two  caribou,  two  sheep, 
two  goats,  and  two  brown  bears,  but  no  more  of  any 
one  kind ;  or  a  shipping  license,  for  which  he  shall  pay 
a  fee  of  ten  dollars,  permitting  the  shipment  of  a  single 
head  or  trophy  of  caribou  or  sheep;  or  a  shipping 
license,  for  which  he  shall  pay  a  fee  of  five  dollars,  per- 
mitting the  shipment  of  a  single  head  or  trophy  of  any 
goat,  deer,  or  brown  bear.  Any  person  wishing  to  ship 
moose  killed  south  of  latitude  62  degrees  must  first 
obtain  a  special  shipping  license,  for  which  he  shall  pay 
a  fee  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  permitting  the 
shipment  of  one  moose,  or  any  part  thereof.  Not  more 
than  one  general  license  and  two  special  moose  licenses 
shall  be  issued  to  any  one  person  in  one  year:  Pro- 
vided, That  before  any  trophy  shall  be  shipped  from 
Alaska  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act  the  person  desir- 
ing to  make  such  shipment  shall  first  make  and  file  with 
the  customs  office  at  the  port  where  such  shipment  is  to 
be  made  an  affidavit  to  the  effect  that  he  has  not  violated 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act ;  that  the  trophy  which 
he  desires  to  ship  has  not  been  bought  or  purchased  and 
has  not  been  sold  and  is  not  being  shipped  for  the  purpose 


APPENDIX  A.  219 

of  being  sold,  and  that  he  is  the  owner  of  the  trophy 
which  he  desires  to  ship,  and  if  the  trophy  is  that  of 
moose,  whether  the  animal  from  which  it  was  taken  was 
killed  north  or  south  of  latitude  62  degrees;  Provided, 
further,  That  any  resident  of  Alaska  prior  to  September 
1st,  1908,  may  without  permit  or  license  ship  any  head 
or  trophy  of  any  of  the  game  animals  herein  mentioned 
upon  riling  an  affidavit  with  the  customs  office  at  the  port 
where  such  shipment  is  to  be  made  that  the  animal  from 
which  said  head  or  trophy  was  taken  was  killed  prior  to 
the  passage  of  this  Act.  Any  affidavit  required  by  the 
provisions  of  this  Act  may  be  subscribed  and  sworn  to 
before  any  customs  officer  or  before  any  officer  competent 
to  administer  an  oath. 

"The  Governor  of  Alaska  is  hereby  authorized  to  issue 
licenses  for  hunting  and  shipping  big  game.  On  issuing 
a  license  he  shall  require  the  applicant  to  state  whether 
the  heads  or  trophies  to  be  obtained  or  shipped  under 
said  license  will  pass  through  the  ports  of  entry  at  Seat^e, 
Washington,  Portland,  Oregon,  or  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia, and  he  shall  forthwith  notify  the  collector  of 
customs  at  the  proper  port  entry  as  to  the  name  of  the 
holder  of  the  license  and  the  name  and  address  of  the 
consignee.  All  proceeds  from  licenses,  except  one  dollar 
from  each  fee,  which  shall  be  retained  by  the  clerk  issu- 
ing the  license  to  cover  the  cost  of  printing  and  issue, 
shall  be  paid  into  a  game  protection  fund  and  shall  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Governor  for  the 
employment  of  wardens  or  the  payment  of  other  expenses 
for  the  protection  of  game  in  Alaska.  And  the  Gov- 
ernor shall  annually  make  a  detailed  and  itemized  report 
to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  in  which  he  shall  state 
the  number  and  kind  of  license  issued,  the  money  re- 
ceived, and  how  the  same  was  expended,  which  report 
shall  also  include  a  full  statement  of  all  trophies  ex- 
ported and  all  animals  and  birds  exported  for  any  pur- 
pose. 

"And  the  Governor  of  Alaska  is  further  authorized  to 
employ  game  wardens,  to  make  regulations  for  the  regis- 
tration and  employment  of  guides,  and  fix  the  rates  for 
licensing  guides  and  rates  of  compensation  for  guiding. 
Every  person  applying  for  a  guide  license  shall  at  the 
time  of  making  such  application,  make  and  file  with  the 
person  issuing  such  license  an  affidavit  to  the  effect  that 


220  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 

he  will  obey  all  the  conditions  of  this  Act  and  of  the 
regulations  thereunder,  that  he  will  not  violate  any  of 
the  game  laws  or  regulations  of  Alaska,  and  that  he  will 
report  all  violations  of  such  laws  and  regulations  that 
come  to  his  knowledge.  Any  American  citizen  or  native 
of  Alaska,  of  good  character,  upon  compliance  with  the 
requirements  of  this  Act,  shall  be  entitled  to  a  guide 
license.  Any  guide  who  shall  fail  or  refuse  to  report 
such  violations  by  the  person  employing  him,  or  who 
shall  himself  violate  any  of  the  laws  or  regulations,  shall 
have  his  license  revoked,  and  in  addition  shall  be  liable 
to  the  penalty  provided  in  Section  7  of  this  Act,  and  shall 
be  ineligible  to  act  as  guide  for  a  period  of  five  years 
from  the  date  of  conviction. 

"Sec.  6.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  persons, 
firm,  or  corporation,  or  their  officers  or  agents,  to  de- 
liver to  any  common  carrier,  or  for  the  owner,  agent,  or 
master  of  any  vessel,  or  for  any  other  person,  to  receive 
for  shipment  or  have  in  possession  with  intent  to  ship 
out  of  Alaska,  any  wild  birds,  except  eagles  and  ravens, 
or  parts  thereof,  or  any  heads,  hides,  or  carcasses  of  cari- 
bou, deer,  moose,  mountain  sheep,  or  mountain  goats,  or 
parts  thereof,  unless  said  heads,  hides,  or  carcasses  are 
accompanied  by  the  required  license  or  coupon  and  by  a 
copy  of  the  affidavit  required  by  Section  5  of  this  Act: 
Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  construed  to 
prevent  the  collection  of  specimens  for  scientific  purposes, 
the  capture  or  shipment  of  live  animals  and  birds  for  ex- 
hibition or  propagation,  or  the  export  from  Alaska  of 
specimens  under  permit  from  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture, and  under  such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  he 
may  prescribe  and  publish. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  collector  of  customs  at 
Seattle,  Portland,  and  San  Francisco,  to  keep  strict  ac- 
count of  all  consignments  of  game  animals  received  from 
Alaska,  and  no  consignment  of  game  shall  be  entered 
until  due  notice  thereof  has  been  received  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Alaska  or  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  and 
found  to  agree  with  the  name  and  address  on  the  ship- 
ment. In  case  consignments  arrive  without  licenses  they 
shall  be  detained  for  sixty  days,  and  if  a  license  be  not 
then  produced  said  consignment  shall  be  forfeited  to  the 
United  States  and  shall  be  delivered  by  the  Collector  of 


APPENDIX  A.  221 

Customs  to  the  United  States  Marshal  of  the  district  for 
such  disposition  as  the  court  may  direct. 

"Sec.  7.  Penalties. — That  any  person  violating  any  of 
the  provisions  of  this  Act  or  any  of  the  regulations  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  or  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Alaska,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  forfeit  to 
the  United  States  all  game  or  birds  in  his  possession,  and 
all  guns,  traps,  nets,  or  boats,  used  in  killing  or  cap- 
turing said  game  or  birds,  and  shall  be  punished  for 
each  offense  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  two  hundred 
dollars  or  imprisonment  not  more  than  three  months, 
or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in  the  discretion 
of  the  court.  Any  person  making  any  false  or  untrue 
statements  in  any  affidavit  required  by  this  Act  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction 
thereof  shall  forfeit  to  the  United  States  all  trophies  in 
his  possession,  and  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  in  any 
sum  not  more  than  two  hundred  dollars  or  imprison- 
ment not  more  than  three  months,  or  by  both  such  fine 
and  imprisonment,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

"Enforcement. — It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  all  mar- 
shals and  deputy  marshals,  collectors  or  deputy  collectors 
of  customs,  all  officers  of  revenue  cutters,  and  all  game 
wardens  to  assist  in  the  enforcement  of  this  Act.  Any 
marshal,  deputy  marshal,  or  warden  in  or  out  of  Alaska 
may  arrest  without  warrant  any  person  found  violating 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act  or  any  of  the  regula- 
tions herein  provided,  and  may  seize  any  game,  birds,  or 
hides,  and  any  traps,  nets,  guns,  boats,  or  other  parapher- 
nalia used  in  the  capture  of  such  game  or  birds  and 
found  in  the  possession  of  said  person  in  or  out  of  Alaska, 
and  any  collector  or  deputy  collector  of  customs,  or 
warden,  or  licensed  guide,  or  any  person  authorized  in 
writing  by  a  marshal  shall  have  the  power  above  pro- 
vided to  arrest  any  persons  found  violating  this  Act  or 
said  regulations  and  seize  said  property  without  warrant 
to  keep  and  deliver  the  same  to  a  marshal  or  a  deputy 
marshal.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  upon  request  of  the  Governor  or  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  to  aid  in  carrying  out  the  provisions  of 
this  Act. 

"Sec.  8.  That  all  Acts  or  parts  of  Acts  in  conflict  with 
the  provisions  of  this  Act  are  hereby  repealed." 


222  PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


APPENDIX  B. 


Homestead  Entries  in  Alaska. 
'By  T.  J.  Donohoe,  Attorney,  Valdez. 

Homestead  entries  of  public  lands  in  Alaska  may  be 
made  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved March  3,  1903,  extending  the  homestead  laws 
and  providing  for  a  right  of  way  for  railroads  in  the 
District  of  Alaska. 

This  act  provides  that  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
may,  under  the  provisions  of  the  homestead  laws  of  the 
United  States,  not  in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  enter  320  acres  of  the  unoccupied  and  unappropri- 
ated non-mineral  public  lands  of  Alaska;  that  no  entry 
shall  be  allowed  extending  more  than  one  hundred  and 
sixty  rods  along  the  shore  of  any  navigable  water.  If 
any  of  the  land  settled  upon  is  unsurveyed,  it  must  be 
located  in  a  rectangular  form  not  more  than  one  mile  in 
length  and  located  by  north  and  south  lines  run  accord- 
ing to  the  true  meridian,  and  the  location  so  made  shall 
be  marked  upon  the  ground  by  permanent  monuments  at 
each  of  the  four  corners  thereof,  so  that  the  boundaries 
may  be  readily  traced.  The  record  of  said  location  shall 
within  ninety  days  from  the  date  of  settlement  be  filed 
for  record  in  the  recording  district  in  which  the  land  is 
situated.  Said  record  shall  contain  the  name  of  the  set- 
tler, the  date  of  settlement,  and  such  a  description  of  the 
land  by  reference  to  some  natural  object  as  will  identify 
the  same. 

If  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  required  by  law  the 
public  surveys  have  not  been  extended  over  the  land 
located,  the  locator  may  secure  patent  for  the  same  by 
procuring  at  his  own  expense  a  survey  of  the  land,  which 
must  be  made  by  a  deputy  surveyor.  When  the  survey 
is  approved  by  the  surveyor  general,  the  same  procedure 


APPENDIX   B. 


22$ 


is  followed  as  in  soldiers'  additional  certified  rights,  in 
addition  to  which  the  settler  must  furnish  the  required 
proof  of  residence  and  cultivation.  Patent  may  be  ob- 
tained without  the  payment  of  any  purchase  price  or 
other  charges  except  the  ordinary  office  fees  and  commis- 
sions of  the  register  and  receiver.  Should  the  settler  so 
desire,  he  may  commute  under  Section  2301,  Revised 
Statutes,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  his  entry  by 
paying,  in  addition  to  the  fees  and  commissions  as  in 
final  homesteads,  the  price  of  one  dollar  and  a  quarter 
per  acre. 


224 


PEERLESS    ALASKA. 


APPENDIX  C. 


Table  showing  rate  of  wages  and  cost  of  living. 


District. 

Rate  of  wages 

Cost  of 

Mechanics. 

Miners. 

Laborers. 

per  day. 

Ketchikan 

$5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
15.00 
10.00 

$3.50  to  $4.00 
3.50 

$3.00  to  $3,50 
3.00 
3.00 
2.75 
3.00  to  3^50 
7.00 
5.00 

$1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

3.50  to  4.00 
7.50 
6.25 

1.00 

Fairbanks 

2.50 
1.25 

*•&& 


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